Guardian
by BizzyLizzy
Summary: John gets left behind when a mission goes wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**Part one**

John Sheppard could feel someone poking his arm. In fact whoever it was kept on prodding and it was beginning to get downright annoying.

'Can't you let me die in peace?' He grumbled, forcing his eyes open to see a pair of concerned brown eyes about two inches from his own. Stopping himself from yelling out in surprise, he took stock of his situation.

He was lying down in what appeared to be some kind of cave, his head was pounding and his side felt as though someone had rubbed a giant cheese grater over it a few times. As his gaze fell on the owner of the other set of eyes, the memories of what had occurred prior to this came flooding back…

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Earlier… 

'What did you say these people were called again?' John asked Teyla who was walking beside him.

'The Clar'am,' Teyla informed him, her voice patient although she had reminded him of the name a number of times before they had arrived on the planet.

'And you really think they might be interested in some sort of trade?'

'Definitely,' Teyla assured him. 'The Clar'am are an agricultural society who have devised many ways of increasing the yield of their crops. The only problem we might have is that they may not think _we_ have anything worth trading.'

'I'm sure we can find something,' John sounded confident.

'They are also very skilled in the arts of healing, though not in the same way as Dr Beckett,' Teyla added.

'How come I get to come along on this little field trip and Beckett gets to stay where it's nice and comfortable?' Rodney asked, struggling to keep up with the pace set by John and Teyla. 'Medicine is his field of expertise after all.'

'Really?' John grinned at McKay's obvious distaste for this mission. 'I hadn't realised that. You're here because we are a team Rodney, and believe it or not, you have, on the odd occasion, made a valuable contribution on some of our missions.'

'Well if you're going to be like that about it…' Rodney let the subject drop. 'How much further is it anyway?' It was close to midday and the sun was high in the sky making it incredibly warm. It also seemed to be a very long way to the village they were heading for.

'Not much,' Teyla told him, wisely ignoring his other comments. 'When we reach the top of this trail we should have a good view of the village.'

'You should get more exercise,' Ronon told him as he came up behind, his long legs eating up the distance. 'Perhaps you'd stop complaining so much,' he added under his breath, but not quietly enough.

'I heard that,' Rodney bit out before falling silent, reserving his energy for the last push to the top of the hill.

'Get down!' John's voice was full of urgency as the rest of the team joined him, lying flat on the brow of the hill and looking down into the valley that opened up below. 'Anyone you know?' He looked at Ronon and Teyla as they surveyed the scene that was unfolding in the village.

'I've come across them before. They target those who have no ability to defend themselves,' Ronon's face clearly showed what he thought of these people. 'I arrived at villages a couple of times just after they had finished. They take what they want and don't leave anyone alive to tell the tale. Once I got there before they left. That particular group never attempted another raid.'

'I have heard of such people but have been lucky enough never to encounter them,' Teyla confirmed Ronon's information. 'We don't have much time.'

As one, Teyla and Ronon began to make their way quickly but stealthily down the hillside, using bushes and rocks for cover. John glared after them, but knowing that he would have given the order anyway, left it at that.

'Stay behind me and keep your head down,' he hissed at Rodney before setting off after the other members of his team.

Just before they reached the village, John brought the team to a halt to issue his orders, sending Teyla and Rodney off together and keeping the impulsive and hot-headed Ronon with himself where he stood a better of chance of preventing him from getting them all killed.

Lobbing a couple of stun grenades in to the middle of a group of the intruders who were about to set fire to a large building in the centre of the village, was the signal for their attack. They had already asserted that the majority of the raiders were in this group with a few stragglers checking the now deserted homes of the villagers for anyone who might have been left behind.

The main group were dealt with rapidly, those not taken out by the grenade were subdued by other means, but the individuals still at large were proving to be more problematic. A couple had managed to make their way back to the centre of the village and had set fire to the building, confirming their suspicions as to the location of the villagers.

'They're burning them alive,' Rodney's voice shook with horror as the unmistakeable sounds of people screaming in the building could be heard. John gripped his shoulder, knowing no words would help.

'Teyla, Rodney, get as many people as you can out of there,' John spoke through gritted teeth. 'Ronon, we'll round up the rest of them and…' he didn't finish, the fierce look on Ronon's face told him that anyone he found wouldn't live for long, and at that moment he didn't really care about trying to reign in the soldier's impulsive nature.

As John worked his way cautiously through the maze of houses, he could hear the attempts to break down the barricades to the central building, at the same time the screaming was also dying away until the only thing that could be heard was the flames licking away at the building accompanied by crashes as the structure began to cave in on itself. Hoping that at least some of the villagers had been saved, John continued to stalk his prey.

He wasn't sure what it was that alerted him, it certainly wasn't a noise, but whatever it was made him freeze, his senses fully alerted to imminent danger. Almost without warning a figure appeared from the shadows and lunged at John, a long-bladed knife held at the right angle to slice his throat open. John reacted instantly, ducking and rolling under the blade, he positioned himself to the side of his attacker with his gun just behind the other man's ear.

'Drop the knife or I will shoot,' John hissed.

The attacker appeared to consider this for a moment or two before resuming his attack but had not counted on John's superior reflexes, the instant he made his move, John pulled the trigger and it was over. In spite of what he knew these barbarians had done to the villagers, John still regretted the need for taking another's life, but he had no time to consider his action any further as the fight was still not over.

The sound of cries cut short told him that Ronon was making short work of anyone who got in his way, and considering the attitude of the one he had dealt with, he was pretty certain that there would be no prisoners taken today. He was about to continue his search when a voice whispering hoarsely behind him caught his attention. Wary of walking into a trap, John cautiously moved forwards, becoming aware of more noises as he did so - the sound of someone fighting to break through the rear panelling of one of the houses accompanied by muffled crying and whimpers of fear.

As he reached the source of the noise, he realised that there were some survivors after all – a man was desperately trying to make a hole big enough at the back of the house to push through. As his eyes fell on John, a look of terror crossed his face at the thought that in spite of all his efforts he had been caught.

'It's alright, I want to help,' John hissed, trying to reassure the man. From his side, John was able to remove several pieces of timber that told him how well built these houses were – it was extremely hard work and still all there was to show for it was a small gap that was nowhere near large enough for anyone to fit through.

'It's taking too long,' the man was almost sobbing with fear now. 'They're coming this way, I can hear them. They're going to catch us. Wait.' Turning around, the man appeared to be speaking briefly to someone behind him, then he turned back and tried to squeeze a child through the gap they had made. John made one last concerted effort to widen the gap and at last it was just big enough and he was able to pull the little girl out. 'There's no more time,' the man's voice sounded resigned to his fate. 'Please take care of her for me. Be good little one, always remember how much I love you.'

'Wait,' John tried to call him back. 'There must be something…' His words died on his lips as he heard voices shouting inside the house accompanied by the sound of gunfire. Wasting no more time, he picked the shocked and silent child up and quickly made his way to the edge of the village, hoping to be able to conceal her somewhere out of the way and come back when the coast was clear.

He was able to find a sheltered area where it was relatively safe and tried to persuade the girl to let go of him to allow him to continue his hunt for the attackers but she clung on to him, refusing to release the only friendly face now left to her. Accepting the situation for the time being, John considered his next step but was interrupted as his radio crackled to life.

'There are more of them than we thought, Colonel,' Teyla's voice came over loud and clear. 'We have to retreat, Dr McKay is injured and we cannot hold out much longer.'

'Understood. Are there any survivors?'

'No,' Teyla's voice was hard and unforgiving at the thought of what had been done to these people she had known. 'We were too late. Where are you?'

'I'm to the south of the village, I'll make my way back to the 'gate and meet up with you. Sheppard…' John's voice trailed off as he heard the sound of feet coming his way. 'I've got company,' he spoke as quietly as he could. 'If I'm not back in fifteen, go through without me.'

'But…'

'I don't have time to argue, just do it. Sheppard out.' Cutting off the radio, John silently scooped the child up again and retreated into the woodland surrounding the village, searching for a more advantageous position from which to defend them.

Eyes scanning the landscape desperately, John at last saw what he was looking for - on the side of the hill a recent landslide had dislodged a number of large boulders that offered their only chance of protection. It was also part way up the slope so would provide a good view on three sides, the only downside being that they were exposed to the top of the hill, but it was the best option available and they had run out of time, their pursuers were almost on top of them and he just had to trust that somehow he would be able to get them out of there alive.

'It's going to be alright,' he said quietly to the girl, trying to sound reassuring. 'Just duck down behind this rock and I'll take care of everything else.' Hoping that he'd be able to make good on his promise, he got himself into position and scanned the area within his field of vision.

Five men were making their way towards him, using trees to provide cover as they steadily advanced. Studying their movements, John was able to anticipate the next locations of two of the men and fired rapidly, taking them down. Becoming more cautious now, the remaining three separated, moving out of his line of sight briefly before once again advancing but coming at him from three sides making it much harder to keep an eye on where each of them was. Taking a lucky shot he was able to get a direct hit on another of the men, unfortunately this one was approaching from a central position and he now had a wider area in which to cover the other two.

Ducking back down behind his cover to reload and take stock of his situation for a brief interval, he took up position once more and this time was able to easily shoot one of the attackers who had taken advantage of John's disappearance to make a break for their location. Scanning the area where he had last seen the remaining man, he began to feel a sense of dread when there was no sign of him.

Widening the area in which he was looking didn't help and John was beginning to think that maybe this wouldn't turn out the right way after all when a muffled cry from just behind and above them gave his opponent's position away. Whirling around as fast as he could, John took aim and fired several times until the man creeping up on them fell to his knees, hatred in his eyes until he toppled over and it was over.

Glancing down at the child beside him, he was surprised to see her crouching down, a small rock in her fist and taking aim up the hill, a second rock in her other hand.

'Did you..?' John asked, raising his eyebrows in curiosity. She nodded in response, staring up at him trustingly before her eyes widened in fear and she let fly with the rock she held, drawing a yelp from behind him. Not believing he could have missed one, he turned and saw one of the men he had previously shot kneeling down, blood pouring from a chest wound but aiming his weapon. At the same moment, both men fired, John's aim straight as an arrow and this time making a permanent mark on the other man. The other's aim was less accurate but John had no chance to move before he felt a searing pain in his side, knocking him off his feet.

For a few minutes he was unable to think beyond the pain but the crackling of his radio broke through the fog. 'Colonel?' Teyla's voice spoke over the sound of guns firing and voices shouting. 'We are at the 'gate. We have to go through now but we will come back as soon as we can. Teyla out.'

Struggling to think clearly, John turned back to the girl. 'We need to find someplace we can hide out. I don't suppose you know of anywhere?'

She considered his question carefully, tilting her head to one side as she thought. 'We could go to the play house,' she said doubtfully.

'How far?'

'On the other side,' she pointed up the hill.

'Ok, let's go.' Using the rock for support, John was able to get to his feet, finding himself to be very shaky. 'I guess we're going to be spending some time together,' John said as he tried to catch his breath. 'Perhaps it's about time we introduced ourselves. I'm John.'

'Mya,' the girl replied, worry in her eyes as she saw what a struggle it was for John to keep on his feet. 'You're hurt.

'Yes I am, but we need to find shelter as quickly as possible until my team can get back here, come on.'

The climb up the hill and the short walk from there to their destination was very hazy in John's memory and he had little recollection of the struggle it had been. Mya's playhouse turned out to be a series of caves winding through the rear of the hillside, some of them showing clear evidence that they were frequently used for games.

A few minutes after they arrived, John's struggle to remain conscious failed and blackness descended.

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for all the feedback. Most of this is written already, the chapters just need a bit of fine-tuning before they're ready for posting._

Part Two

'I'm going after him,' Ronon announced as the 'gate opened, turning to suit his actions to his words.

'You will never make it,' Teyla told him angrily as she supported a semi-conscious McKay. 'You must come back with us and we will return with reinforcements. Dr Weir will not allow Colonel Sheppard to remain here for long on his own.'

'There aren't that many,' Ronon tried to argue, surveying the enemy as they drew closer. 'I can take them easily.'

'What's going on? Is there a problem?' Dr Weir's voice came through on the radio, concerned when nobody stepped through the 'gate.

'We are under attack, Dr McKay is injured,' Teyla replied. 'Stand by.' Turning back to Ronon with a glare, the warrior at last gave in and moved to support McKay on his other side before the three of them returned to Atlantis.

'Get him to the infirmary,' Elizabeth ordered the moment she saw Rodney, seeing him into the hands of the newly-arrived medics before returning to Teyla and Ronon. 'What happened? Where's Colonel Sheppard?'

'We have to go back,' Ronon snapped angrily. 'Sheppard got trapped on the far side of the village, he was being pursued.'

'When we arrived the village was being attacked by raiders. We tried to stop them but there were too many and we were unable to save anyone,' Teyla related the course of events as rapidly as possible. She also found it extremely frustrating but she was aware that Dr Weir would not authorise a rescue mission until she had the facts before her. 'Ronon was able to join Dr McKay and myself when we realised there were more of them than we first thought, we had no choice but to retreat to the 'gate. Colonel Sheppard was supposed to join us but in his last contact with us he told us he was being pursued. We waited as long as we could when we reached the 'gate but we had no choice but to come through without him.'

Elizabeth wasted no time making any comment, she trusted Teyla's judgement as much as she trusted Sheppard's and knew every second counted. 'Major Lorne? I need you to get a couple of units to the 'jumper bay as quickly as possible to mount a rescue mission for Colonel Sheppard. Teyla and Ronon will join you, they can give you more details. Weir out.'

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The 'gate opened taking the people lying in wait on the other side by surprise. As they scrambled to their feet hastily reaching for their weapons, they were even more surprised at the sight of two small ships coming through and swooping around them. Forming themselves into a circle from which they could defend themselves from all sides, they waited nervously for what might come next.

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'Roberts and Carlton I want you to go with Teyla and Ronon and start searching for Colonel Sheppard at his last known location,' Major Lorne was issuing his orders hastily, very much aware of the threat they still had to deal with. 'White and Marks will cover the rest of us from the air.'

The battle was over almost before it began. As the enemy saw the approaching soldiers they broke their defensive circle and went on the offensive but moments later, as they saw the kind of firepower the two 'jumpers had, they laid down their weapons and gave themselves up.

'Some of their men are unaccounted for, sir,' Sgt Farrow reported to Lorne after the prisoners were secured. 'They don't seem to be quite the mercenaries Ronon made out.'

'Don't you believe it,' Lorne put the Sergeant right. 'I've seen many brave men become cowards in the face of superior weaponry. Besides, from what you know of Ronon, do you really think he'd leave Colonel Sheppard behind if this was all that was standing in his way?' He waved his arm, indicating the subdued opposing force. 'How many men are we talking?' He returned to more important matters.

'Probably no more than ten, but they're not too sure. They know some were killed in the village, but they have no idea how many are still out there,' Sgt Farrow replied.

'Alright, listen up folks, this is what we're going to do,' Lorne addressed the whole team. 'We're going to send this sorry bunch back to where they came from. When we're done with that, our priority is to find Colonel Sheppard and neutralise any of the enemy we come across. We'll use the 'jumpers to search from the air and give us advance notice of anything we need to know about. Understood?'

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Three hours later the Atlantis team had encountered six more of the mercenaries, easily overpowering them as they tried to get back to the 'gate unseen. Leaving a couple of men to keep the 'gate secure, Lorne had given orders to widen the search area already begun by Ronon and Teyla.

'Teyla, Ronon, this is Lorne. It's going to be dark soon, we'll have to set up camp for the night and begin again at first light.' Lorne knew this decision wouldn't be popular but he had to consider the practicalities of searching an unknown territory in the dark with an unknown number of enemy soldiers trying to track them down.

'Stand by.' Teyla looked at Ronon knowing her team-mate would not consent to giving up the search again, but fortunately she was able to provide a good reason that would hopefully keep Major Lorne happy. 'We have found five bodies, Major. Ronon thinks they were all shot with one of our own weapons. We have also recovered the Colonel's radio. I believe he may be injured – there is blood on a rock which he must have used for cover.'

'Stay where you are,' Lorne responded, partly relieved they had found something at last, partly concerned that Atlantis's ranking military officer could have been losing blood for hours in unfamiliar territory pursued by the enemy. 'I'm on my way.'

'He went that way,' Ronon pointed up the hill as soon as Lorne and two others appeared.

'Are you sure?'

Ronon tilted his head to one side and looked steadily at Lorne who got the message.

'We can use the spotlights from the 'jumpers to provide additional lighting. I don't suppose you happen to know if there's likely to be a moon tonight?' Lorne asked Teyla.

'I believe there will be,' Teyla confirmed. 'The Clar'am were a very superstitious people and considered a full moon to be a sign of blessing from their gods. That is why we chose today to come here.'

'Well that'll make things a little easier.' Lorne spoke rapidly into his radio for a few minutes before indicating that everything was now in readiness.

Ronon took the lead, moving slowly but steadily up the hillside, flashlight in hand and eyes sweeping the ground for any more signs that would help them.

'Several people have come this way recently,' Ronon had stopped abruptly and dropped to the ground as he reached the top of the ridge, Teyla and the others following his lead.

'I do not see anyone,' Teyla searched the area lit by the 'jumpers carefully. 'Just a moment…' Ronon had seen it too as he pulled out his weapon and began to move stealthily in the shadows towards his target, closely followed by Teyla.

Shaking his head at the frustration he knew Colonel Sheppard must also feel with the two of them, Lorne requested back-up from the remaining team before he took the same route as Ronon and Teyla.

By the time he reached them, Ronon had single-handedly dealt with the two men who had been waiting to ambush them, using his knife to silently cut their throats so as not to draw attention to their presence.

'They didn't give me any choice,' Ronon told the frowning Lorne. 'They both came at me, I had to defend myself.'

'Ok, let's move on,' Lorne accepted the explanation, not that he had much choice, but intending to keep a closer watch on Ronon.

They proceeded with the search, covering the ground even more slowly as each of them was also very much on the alert for signs of the enemy as well as for any that would tell them they were close to finding Colonel Sheppard. The night grew chilly as the moon began to rise at last, shedding an eerie glow over the woodland they were searching, while at the same moment the spotlight from one of the jumpers highlighted an opening in the hillside before sweeping on it's way.

'Did anyone else…' Lorne began.

'Yes,' Teyla replied before he could finish speaking.

'The tracks lead in that direction,' Ronon confirmed, 'although someone has attempted to erase them.'

Ronon led them to the entrance they had spotted, falling silent as they followed him inside, flashlights sweeping through a number of unoccupied recesses until Ronon let out a yelp.

'What's wrong?' Lorne asked briskly.

'I've been hit by something,' Ronon raised his hand to the side of his face and studied his fingers as they came away covered in blood. 'It's not a gun, but we need to be careful.'

'I believe I know what it was,' Teyla knelt down and picked up a round stone, just the right size to fit in small hand.

'Who…' Lorne began, breaking off when Teyla put her gun away and began to advance, the light from her flashlight illuminating a rock outcropping behind which they could see a figure preparing to take aim again. 'Teyla, what are you doing?'

Teyla ignored him and spoke to the shadowy form in front of her instead. 'It is alright, we are here to help.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

The figure dropped what was in its hand and raced forward, throwing its arms around Teyla's waist.

'Teyla!' The child cried, her voice full of relief.

'How did you know?' Ronon asked, confused.

'This is Mya,' Teyla explained. 'She is the daughter of the village healer. The children of the village use stones such as these to knock fruit down from the highest branches in the woods. Mya, is anyone else with you?'

The little girl looked up at Teyla, relieved to have found a friendly face at last. She considered the questions for a moment, glancing back at those who accompanied Teyla doubtfully before responding. 'John,' was all she said, her face growing worried as she grabbed Teyla's hand and led the way deeper into the cave.

They didn't have to go far before they reached their destination. 'Colonel Sheppard,' Teyla exclaimed as she hurried towards the figure propped up against the far wall. 'Are you injured?'

There was no response, but Mya joined Teyla and pulled up the Colonel's t-shirt to reveal a bandage on his side, blood still seeping through.

'Did you do this?' Teyla asked. Mya nodded. 'Is he hurt anywhere else?' This time a shake of the head.

'Major, we need to get him back to Atlantis as quickly as possible,' Teyla turned round to speak to Lorne.

'I've got one of the jumpers landing as close to here as it can get, but we're still going to need to carry him a fair distance,' Lorne told her. 'How bad is it?'

'He has lost a lot of blood,' Teyla told him. 'He is also unconscious.'

'What about her?' Lorne indicated Mya who was now standing directly in front of him, staring up at him.

'I have not had chance to check her yet,' Teyla told him, turning round to look at the little girl. 'Perhaps you should ask her – she seems to like you.' Mya had begun to pat the Major's pockets as though she were looking for something.

'Are you hurt Mya?' Lorne asked, attempting to stop her. 'You should be careful, you might get hurt.' Mya returned her gaze to his face briefly before she resumed her search, carefully replacing several items back in their pockets before she found what she was searching for. Tearing the cellophane wrapper open, Mya began to munch on one of the power bars she had found.

'I believe she has already been through the Colonel's pockets,' Teyla smiled, indicating a pile of items set to one side. 'She used his med kit to clean and bandage his wound.'

'She looks a little young to be carrying out first aid,' Lorne said doubtfully.

'She is eight I believe, though she is small for her age.' Teyla said. 'She has learnt much from watching her father at work.'

Finishing her snack, Mya returned to staring up at Lorne curiously, tapping him on the chest. 'Why does she keep doing that?' Lorne asked nervously.

'She wants to know your name,' Teyla informed him.

'I'm Major Lorne,' he told the child. She looked confused for a moment, before pointing at the two other people she knew.

'John. Teyla.' She said, looking up at him and patting his chest once more.

'Try your first name,' Teyla suggested.

'Marcus,' Lorne told her.

'Marcus,' Mya repeated, beaming at him trustingly, taking his hand and leading him to the Colonel. 'John?' There was a question in her voice.

'We're going to help him,' Lorne told her before being distracted as his radio crackled into life. He listened carefully then turned to Teyla and Ronon. 'It looks like we were followed here, there are more of the raiders outside. Teyla, keep an eye on things in here, Ronon, you're with me.'

Mya, sensing that all was not well, looked up at Lorne with fear in her eyes and clutched his hand tightly, unwilling to let go until Teyla came to the rescue.

'Mya, we need to tend to Colonel Sheppard,' Teyla told her. Reluctantly Mya released Lorne's hand and knelt down beside John to begin checking the dressing. Nodding his thanks, Lorne quickly followed Ronon to the cave opening.

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Teyla sat beside Mya, an arm around her to try to provide some measure of reassurance. The sounds of shouting and gunfire echoed around the cave as the fight with the enemy intruders continued, Mya cowering against her only source of comfort, hands covering both ears in an attempt to block out the worst of the noise.

Ten minutes after the fight began, Teyla nudged Mya and pointed at Colonel Sheppard who had just opened his eyes and was looking around in bewilderment. Instantly forgetting the noise outside, Mya focussed on the patient, crouching down in front of him and searching his face for an indication as to how he was feeling.

'What's going on?' John's voice was harsh and dry as he looked around him.

'Here,' Teyla handed him her canteen of water, Mya taking it from her instead and helping him to drink from it, refusing to allow him to do anything for himself.

'Thanks,' John's face twisted into a grimace as he shifted position slightly and he was reminded of his injury. 'How am I?'

'The injury is not too severe, but you have lost a considerable amount of blood,' Teyla informed him. 'You will be fine once we return to Atlantis.'

'And how long's that going to take? Sounds like there's a bit of a battle going on out there.'

'Soon,' Teyla assured him. 'Major Lorne is here with several teams. We have already encountered a number of the enemy before we found you and Major Lorne will call on the 'jumpers for additional support if the situation requires it.'

'That's good,' John's voice grew quiet as his eyes closed and he lost consciousness once more.

'John?' Mya looked quizzically at Teyla.

'He will be fine,' Teyla smiled at the little girl. 'It is better that he rests, he is very tired. Perhaps it would be a good idea to put John's possessions in here so we will be ready to leave as soon as the others return.' Teyla handed over her pack and Mya went over to the pile of neatly stacked equipment and began to pack it away carefully.

Teyla moved towards the cave entrance to determine how things were progressing only to realise the sounds of gunfire were getting closer, the echoes telling her that the fighting was now taking place within the caves themselves. Acting almost without thought, Teyla turned to tell Mya to join John but her words died on her lips as her attention was caught by debris falling from a newly-formed crack on the ceiling of the cave, debris that was rapidly turning into small rocks immediately in front of John.

Glancing from Mya, who was now crouching behind a large rock too terrified to move, to John, Teyla instinctively knew who needed her help most at that moment and threw herself at the unconscious Sheppard just as a whole section of the ceiling gave way, raining down rocks and raising a cloud of dust that completely enveloped the whole section of the cave.

To be continued… 


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry this took so long – I've been awayand have had problems uploading documents since I got back!_

**Part four**

Using the distraction caused by the rock-fall to press home their advantage, the better-trained personnel from Atlantis were able to disable and disarm their attackers before they had chance to regroup. Leaving the captives to be returned to their own planet by four of his men making use of one of the 'jumpers, Lorne quickly returned to the cave where Sheppard, Teyla and Mya had been left, followed by Ronon and the rest of his team, coming to an abrupt standstill as he surveyed the devastation in front of him.

The dust was beginning to settle revealing a newly-formed barrier against the far wall where Sheppard had been, and as there was no sign of either Teyla or Mya, where they most likely were as well.

'Colonel Sheppard? Teyla?' Lorne called loudly from where he stood just outside the cave opening, not daring to go in just yet. His caution was well founded as the sound of his voice caused a further shower of small rocks and debris that had been loosened by the previous fall but also producing a yelp from somewhere on the right-hand side of the cave, just in front of the rock-fall.

'Colonel? Teyla?' Lorne repeated, this time into his radio, and breathed a sigh of relief when nothing further fell, his relief turning to irritation as Ronon pushed past him, racing towards the location of the noise. 'Ronon what are you doing?' He hissed. 'We don't know if it's safe to go in there.'

Ignoring Lorne for the moment, Ronon was hidden from view for a few moments as he bent down behind a large rock. He reappeared almost immediately carrying a small, wriggling object covered in dust and grit.

'It's safe,' Ronon grinned as he returned to the entrance, handing over his burden to Lorne with relief.

Taken by surprise, Lorne set Mya on her feet and crouched in front of her. 'Do you know where Colonel Sheppard and Teyla are?' He asked her gently. Mya stared at him, her eyes filled with tears before she turned and pointed at the pile of rocks, confirming his suspicions. He stood up again and nodded at one of his team with the most field-medic experience to check her over. As soon as he approached however, Mya retreated behind Lorne and grabbed hold of one of his arms tightly, refusing to allow anyone else near her. Lorne waved the medic away and turned his focus back to Ronon.

'Any chance they're alive?'

'Hard to say,' Ronon shrugged. To an outside observer he appeared unconcerned at the possibility that Sheppard and Teyla were dead, but to those who knew him, the expression in his eyes revealed his true feelings of the situation. 'The rocks have only come down from the roof in one spot so it's possible they may have survived. Only one way to find out.'

Entering the area more cautiously this time, Ronon kept a watchful eye on the damaged ceiling, aiming his flashlight on to the area to determine its stability.

'Looks alright for now,' Ronon tossed back to the men still waiting. 'Better not make too much noise though – the gun fire probably brought this lot down in the first place.'

Satisfied with Ronon's assessment, Lorne gave the order to begin the search while he focussed on Mya.

'Are you hurt?' He asked, quickly checking for any cuts or broken bones. She shook her head, her eyes and face full of fear. 'We're looking for them now, we'll do everything we can to get them out of there.' Pulling out a cloth, he poured some water on it and began to wipe away the dust and dirt from her face and hands, more than half his attention on the progress being made inside the cave.

------------------

John woke half-expecting to find himself in the infirmary. Instead, he was lying on the ground in the pitch black with something soft, warm and unmoving half-covering him. Wincing as he released his arm from underneath whoever was lying on top of him, he found another arm and started shaking it.

'Colonel!' Teyla exclaimed as she carefully rolled away from him, sitting up with a grunt and switching on the light from her P90 to provide some illumination, making John wince at the sudden brightness.

'Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?' John asked as patiently as he could. 'I'm assuming we're still in the cave?'

'Yes,' Teyla confirmed then attempted to make contact with the rescue party. 'Major Lorne? Ronon? This is Teyla, I'm with Colonel Sheppard. Can anyone hear me?' Teyla looked at John with a concerned frown before responding to his earlier question. 'There was a cave-in while you were unconscious. I was attempting to protect you and we were cut off from the rest of our people.'

'I see.' John considered the information for a moment then tried to sit up to relieve some of the discomfort caused by lying scrunched up on his injured side, gratefully accepting assistance from Teyla. Moving awkwardly and taking a lot of deep breaths to manage the pain, John was able to find a reasonably comfortable sitting position, leaning back against the wall of the cave and closing his eyes as he waited for the waves of dizziness and nausea to subside, trying to ignore the warm stickiness that was spreading down his side that told him his wound had started to bleed again.

'What's wrong with your arm?' John asked bluntly as he began to feel a little more in control. In spite of his own pain, he hadn't been oblivious to the awkward way in which Teyla had moved when helping him.

'It is no matter.' Teyla tried to make light of it, but was unable to avoid John's steady gaze that demanded a truthful answer. 'I have injured my arm, I believe it is just a sprain.'

'Let me have a look.' John examined the offending limb, agreeing with Teyla's self-diagnosis. 'I think you're right. It might be as well to strap it up though, got your med-kit?'

'I am sorry, I gave my pack to Mya…'

'Mya!' John suddenly recalled that he hadn't seen or heard her and started looking wildly around the small, enclosed space. 'Where is she? Is she alright?'

'I do not know where she is,' Teyla told him, her voice full of concern. 'She was at the other side of the cave putting your equipment into my pack, but I believe she will be fine, the rocks were not falling near her. Major Lorne and the others will no doubt have taken her to safety.'

John fell silent, considering that the effort Mya's father had made to get her to safety may have been wasted after all.

While he was distracted, Teyla studied him, observing as he shifted to try to find a more comfortable position.

'How are you feeling?' She asked abruptly, startling him out of his silence.

'Apart from having been shot and sustaining a few new bumps and bruises, I'm just peachy.'

'John?' Teyla's voice told him she knew something was wrong and he gave in.

'Ok, ok. I think my side's bleeding again, but there's not much you can do about it so let's just work on how we're going to get out of here.'

Teyla swept her flashlight over the barrier shutting them off from the rest of the cave, both of them looking for any way in which they could help themselves.

'I guess we'll just have to sit back and wait for the rescue party,' John sighed at last, reluctant to do nothing.

'I am afraid there is little else we can do,' Teyla agreed.

'We could be here a while.' John grimaced as he tried to make himself comfortable. 'Or not, ' he added as a worrying quantity of small rocks and rubble began to shower down from the barrier in front of them. 'What the hell are they trying to do – finish us off?'

Curling up close to the wall and protecting themselves as best they could from falling debris, John and Teyla fell silent as the rocks continued to come down.

--------------

To be continued… 

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


	5. Chapter 5

**Part five**

It seemed like hours before the rocks finally stopped falling. Teyla was the first to notice, shining the light over the area in front of them just to be certain, then turned to John who had his eyes closed.

'John?' Teyla kept her voice quiet, not wanting to risk making too much noise that might cause further damage. 'John, it has stopped.' When he didn't respond, Teyla shifted position and took a good look at him, her concern increasing considerably as she saw how pale his face was and noticed the red stain that had now seeped through his clothing. She checked his pulse, finding it to be weak, his skin felt clammy and his breathing was rapid and shallow. Biting her lip as she considered what she should do next, she was relieved when she realised John had opened his eyes and was watching her, a puzzled expression on his face.

'How are you feeling?' Teyla asked gently, her hand on his arm to provide some reassurance. John stared at her unblinkingly for some time before he shook his head as he began to focus on his surroundings.

'What…' he began before he was overcome by a fit of coughing, partly caused by the amount of dust in the air and partly by dryness in his mouth and throat.

'Here,' Teyla offered him the remaining bottle of water and John took it, his hands shaking as he raised it to his lips, water spilling down his chin as he gulped the liquid down thirstily until Teyla took the bottle from him. 'You need to drink it slowly, otherwise you could make yourself sick.'

John looked at her out of the corner of his eye and nodded, wiping his mouth before speaking.

'What's the situation?' His voice sounded weak even to his own ears and he could see it had not gone unnoticed by the expression on Teyla's face as she responded.

'The new fall may have been triggered by those attempting to locate us,' she told him, trying not to display the fear she was feeling. 'Or else the area itself has become unstable, I am not sure which, but it is probable that being rescued could take longer than we expected.'

'I see.' John closed his eyes again, fighting against the tiredness that was threatening to overwhelm him, trying to focus his thoughts. 'And how am I?' He suspected she knew a lot more about his current state of health than he did right now.

'You have lost more blood and I believe that your body is beginning to go into shock.'

'Uh huh.' John considered this, seeing the concern in her eyes and understanding much more than she was saying. 'How's your arm?'

'It is sore, but it is not too bad.' Teyla was relieved that she was at least able to give him some good news. Abruptly she looked away from him, focussing on a spot behind her. 'Did you feel that?'

'What?'

'A draught.' Teyla got to her feet and moved closer to the source. 'Just here.' She turned back to John. 'There is a gap in the wall here. I do not remember noticing it before, but if air can get in then…'

'We may be able to get out,' John finished for her, a glimmer of one of his boyish grins on his face as he forgot their other problems for the time being. 'How big is it?'

'It will be a tight fit,' Teyla told him with a sympathetic smile. 'Perhaps I should attempt to go through first to make sure it is possible.'

'What, and leave me all alone in the dark here? I don't think so.'

'John, you are injured, if it is not possible to get out this way you will have weakened yourself unnecessarily,' Teyla tried to convince both John and herself of this. Teyla felt extremely uncomfortable at the idea of leaving John alone for any length of time considering his worsening condition and took the arm he held out to her, helping him get to his feet.

He stood for a few moments, swaying gently as he tried to get his bearings but Teyla's assessment regarding his state of health was well-founded and almost immediately his legs gave way and Teyla lowered him back to a sitting position.

'Think I'll just stop here for a while.' John tried to sound upbeat but his face was covered with a fine sheen that betrayed how much the effort to stand had taken out of him. 'Wait until you come back.'

'I will return as soon as I can.' Teyla removed her jacket and draped it over John, leaving the last of the water with him before squeezing herself into the hole and disappeared from sight a few moments later.

John settled himself back against the wall preparing for a long wait. He closed his eyes, although with Teyla and the only source of light now gone it made no real difference, but somehow it made the darkness seem less of a threat as he tried to keep his thoughts positive.

-------------

Major Lorne had joined the rescue party after Mya dozed off, clutching the pack containing items from John's pockets as though to reassure herself somehow. He checked back on her at regular intervals and as he returned from one of his checks, his attention was drawn to the roof.

'Get out of there now!' He yelled as he realised the efforts of the rescue party were de-stabilizing the roof of the cave. Pausing only long enough to ensure he had been heard, Lorne scooped up Mya and led the way into the open, closely followed by the rest of his team with Ronon bringing up a reluctant rear.

As soon as he made sure that all had got out safely, Lorne, ignoring Ronon's fierce glares, spoke to Sergeant Marks who was in the 'jumper that had remained near the cave once Colonel Sheppard had been located.

'I want you to try the life-signs detector again, see if they can penetrate the caves.' He fell silent as he watched the 'jumper rise slowly into the air and hover over the hillside. They had tried it before, right after John and Teyla had become trapped, but had been unable to get any readings because of the minerals in the rocks. The response came after a few tense minutes, those watching and waiting realising the attempt had failed as they watched the grim expression on Lorne's face, listening as he spoke to White who was in the second 'jumper guarding the 'gate.

'Contact Atlantis and get Dr Zelenka here as quickly as you can, and anyone else who can help modify the sensors.' He glanced down beside him at Mya who tugged on his hand, pointed at the hill and started making her way up. 'What is it? Where are you going?' Chasing after her as she scrambled up the side of the hill, he noticed for the first time what her keen eyes had spotted.

The sun was starting to rise making it easier to see what couldn't be seen even by the light previously provided by the 'jumper. There was a small opening about 30 feet away from them at the top of a fairly steep slope and Mya was making her way towards this with the agility of a mountain goat, forgetting her exhaustion as she came closer to her goal.

'White, belay that order and stand by. Marks, get as much light as you can on the hillside.' Pausing only long enough to issue new instructions to the 'jumper pilots, Lorne followed Mya, closely pursued by the rest of the search party, arriving just as a bedraggled and dirty Teyla scrambled into view.

Trying to catch her breath, Teyla accepted Lorne's offer of assistance gratefully, leaning heavily on him for support as her legs threatened to give way underneath her. Once he had seated her on a ledge to one side of the opening, Lorne handed her some water, waiting for her to catch her breath so she could speak.

'Colonel Sheppard is still in there,' she told him as soon as she could get the words out. 'He is alive but he is very weak and is in need of assistance.'

'What was it like getting through there?' Lorne moved to one side to allow one of his team to see to her injuries.

'The part nearest the cave is narrow,' Teyla spoke through clenched teeth as several cuts and scrapes were cleaned and her arm bandaged, proving to be a painful process. 'It opens up after a short distance but then it begins to climb quite steeply. I needed to rest frequently before I was able to make my way out.'

'Ok. Farrow, Carlton, you're with me,' Lorne nodded at the two people named. 'Marks, I want you to take Teyla, get her to Atlantis and bring Dr Beckett back with you. Teyla, you have the most information on Colonel Sheppard's condition and can bring Dr Beckett up to speed.' Lorne silenced any protests from Teyla before she could speak up. 'The rest of you stand by until we return.'

'I'm coming with you,' Ronon stated, getting to his feet and moving towards the opening.

'I can't let you do that, Ronon,' Lorne quickly positioned himself in front of the larger man having half-expected something like this to happen.

'I'm not just going to stand out here and do nothing,' Ronon snapped without allowing Lorne to finish

and made to step around him, but the movement was anticipated and Lorne still blocked his path. 'You're in my way,' Ronon glared at Lorne coldly.

'Ronon,' Teyla's quiet voice caught his attention. 'You should listen to him. If you attempt to go in, there is a strong possibility you will not get through. Major Lorne has chosen the smallest people in his team for a good reason. You cannot help Colonel Sheppard if you become trapped.'

Glaring at Teyla and Lorne, Ronon moved out of the way but took up position at the tunnel opening, drawing attention to the small figure disappearing inside. Ronon and Lorne both made a dive for the tunnel but were too late to prevent Mya from entering and within moments she could no longer be seen.

--------------

Mya had been sitting beside Teyla listening to everything that was going on. She learned very quickly that John's condition had worsened and that these people wanted to help him but seemed to be taking an awfully long time to do anything. As she listened, a plan formed in her own mind that seemed to provide all the answers: she was the smallest of all of them, she could reach John quickly and help him until they could get a fully-trained healer to him. She'd helped him before and she wasn't about to let him die – she had already lost too much and wasn't prepared to lose anyone else, not if she could do something to prevent it.

She also knew that these people wouldn't approve of her plan and would try to prevent her going, so moving quickly and quietly, she retrieved the pack which held John's belongings, shoved the nearly full bottle of water she had been given into it and made her way to the cave opening while Marcus and the tall, scary looking man, the one they called Ronon, were arguing.

She could hear Marcus calling after her as she went further into the tunnel but she ignored him, focussing only on reaching John and was soon too far away for voices to reach her. She switched on the flashlight and continued to follow the route down towards the cave, having no problems negotiating the steepness or size of the path, her size making it seem almost easy until she reached the smallest part that Teyla had mentioned and knew she had almost reached her goal as she wriggled her way into the cave.

As she shone the light over the cave after climbing out of the tunnel, she caught her breath as she saw John at last. His eyes were closed and from where she was standing it didn't look as though he were breathing. Feeling scared for the first time since entering the tunnel, she moved towards John, reaching out a shaking hand to touch him.

--------------

To be continued… 

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


	6. Chapter 6

**Part six**

'Damn it!' Lorne swore as Mya either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him. 'I'm going after her. You two follow as soon as you've been able to rig up some kind of stretcher – if Teyla's right, we're going to have to carry him back.' Without wasting any more time, he grabbed one of the packs containing emergency supplies and entered the tunnel, beginning the descent but going a lot more slowly than Mya would have been able to.

Taking careful note of the terrain as he went, Lorne's mind was busy figuring out potential hazards, resting places and solutions to problems for making the return journey with Colonel Sheppard as smooth and easy as possible. They would find him and bring him back alive, Lorne told himself fiercely, not prepared to consider the notion that it might just be a body they would be bringing back.

He understood now why Teyla had looked such a mess when she had emerged from the tunnel earlier – although it was wide enough to fit through comfortably, it was very low in places and necessitated crawling on hands and knees and in spite of the illumination from his flashlight, he still managed to knock himself a number of times.

By the time he reached the smallest part of the tunnel, the sweat was pouring down his face with the exertion and the limited air coming through behind him but he knew he was almost there now and pushed himself the last few metres, squeezing through the narrow opening until he at last emerged from the tunnel.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Lorne shone his flashlight into the cave before him, a puzzled frown on his face until he realised what it was he was looking at.

---------------

'Trying to sleep here,' John mumbled as he felt a sharp stinging sensation on his face, waving a hand to knock away whatever it was that was irritating him.

'John?' A soft, familiar voice spoke his name but it still took him a while to register who it was, making him open his eyes abruptly.

'Mya?' He looked at her and his surroundings, the fact that they were still in the cave registering in his sluggish thoughts. 'What are you doing here?' His mouth felt as though it were stuffed with cotton wool.

'Helping you,' she told him briefly, and continued to clean up the many cuts on his face and arms. 'Marcus is coming.'

'And he let you come first?' John asked in surprise. When Mya said nothing, John nodded his head as he understood what must have happened, knowing that Lorne would never have allowed the little girl to return to an unsafe environment in this way. 'Never mind. So…'

Not giving him chance to say anything further, Mya placed her bottle of water to his lips and waited patiently for him to drink, only allowing him to take small sips at a time. When he had drunk as much as he could, she shone the torch to light up his face and looked at him, a calculating expression on her face that eerily reminded him of Beckett.

'What?' He asked suspiciously, then hissed in pain as Mya lifted his t-shirt and checked the dressing on his side. Looking down, he did a double-take as he saw the wound was covered in some green stuff that he couldn't identify. 'What is that?'

'Cordra leaf.'

'What's it doing there?' John was struggling to keep his thoughts together now. When he first woke, he had felt a little better but now the effort of thinking and talking had drained him of what little energy he had started with.

'Slows bleeding.' Mya replaced the dressing and secured the bandage in place, sitting back on her heels when she had finished before encouraging John to drink some more water. When he had finished drinking, Mya climbed onto John's lap, draped the jacket covering him over both of them and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head comfortably against his chest.

Wondering what she was doing, John was surprised when he realised how cold he was, and even more surprised that he had only just noticed. Mya was obviously more observant and was doing what little she could to increase his body temperature in the only way possible. Feeling drowsy with the new-found warmth, John closed his eyes, wrapped his own arms around the little girl and dozed off again. A few minutes later, Mya's eyes also closed and she too fell asleep.

-------------

It was like this that Lorne found them, his flashlight resting on them for a few moments before he directed the light to one side of them. He smiled to himself at the cute picture the two of them made before moving closer to check on Colonel Sheppard's condition. His pulse was weak and rapid making him frown as he went to check the wound on Sheppard's side, his eyes taking in the recently cleaned cuts on his face. He had just raised the t-shirt and was about to check the wound when he was startled by John speaking.

'I didn't think we knew each other well enough for this.' John's voice, though very weak, still had a hint of humour about it, giving Lorne hope that he would be alright after all.

'Good to see you awake, sir,' he replied, continuing to remove the dressing and discovering the cordra leaf. Not knowing what it was, he began to lift it up curiously but found his hand slapped away. Looking up, wondering if he had inadvertently hurt the Colonel, he saw Mya staring at him fiercely, her hand ready to slap him if he tried to remove the leaf again. 'What is that stuff?'

'Cordra leaf,' John told him when Mya just continued staring at Lorne without responding. 'It's slowing the bleeding.'

'I see.' He hesitated for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders and replacing the dressing. From what he could tell, the leaf appeared to be working and there were only a few spots of blood on the dressing, although he could see Sheppard's t-shirt had previously been soaked with blood. 'How are you feeling, sir?'

'I've felt better. I'll be glad to get out of here, though. I assume you've got a plan for getting us out of here?' John raised his eyebrows questioningly.

'Farrow and Carlton should be here soon, they're bringing a stretcher with them. I came on ahead of them when Mya decided she didn't want to wait around any longer.' Lorne glanced at Mya who hid her face in John's chest.

'Mya, I think you owe the Major an apology. I know you just wanted to make sure I was alright, but you know you shouldn't have run off like that don't you?' John's words were gentle but firm, and Mya looked up at Lorne for a moment before jumping up, hugging him by way of apology and sat back down again on John's lap.

Clearing his throat to cover the awkward moment, Lorne continued to update Sheppard. 'Teyla is fine, apart from a few scrapes and bruises and she's returned to Atlantis with Marks. She can let Dr Beckett know what's been happening and Marks is going to bring him back, so he should be waiting for you when we get out of here.'

'Good work, Major.' John's voice was barely audible now and, knowing that there was someone else to take charge of the situation, gave in to the overwhelming exhaustion and his eyes slid closed. Mya looked up at Lorne with fear in her eyes.

'We're going to get him out of here,' Lorne crouched in front of Mya, speaking as reassuringly as possible. 'And as soon as we get out, Dr Beckett will be able to start treating him straight away.'

'Dr Beckett?' Mya asked him curiously, forgetting her concerns for the moment.

'Yes, he's a medical doctor, like a healer.'

'Doctor.' Mya nodded, looking a little happier.

'You should get some more rest before the others get here.' Lorne could see how exhausted she was and knowing the return journey would be hard on her, he was relieved to see her settle back against Sheppard and close her eyes allowing him to take the opportunity to rest while he had the chance.

-------------

It was almost an hour later before Lorne heard Farrow and Carlton, although from the sounds he guessed they still had some way to go and twenty minutes later they emerged, out of breath and with sweat pouring down their faces but bringing with them the means by which they would get Sheppard back to the outside world.

'Glad to see you made it in one piece.' Lorne greeted the new arrivals, nodding approvingly at the modified stretcher. It had been padded with as many items as they had been able to lay their hands on, including jackets and emergency blankets from some of the packs. Ropes had been secured at both ends and fashioned into harnesses to make pulling the stretcher easier, and ropes had also been criss-crossed the length of the stretcher to secure the Colonel in place.

'It'll be pretty tough going on the way back,' Lorne continued. 'You should both get some rest and have something to eat and drink before we start. I'll get the other two ready to go.'

Lorne woke Mya with some reluctance - she looked so peaceful as she slept - but he knew it was just as important for her to eat and drink as it was for the rest of them. Once she was settled with an energy bar watching the two new arrivals warily, Lorne turned to Sheppard who took a lot more effort to rouse, but he opened his eyes at last and stared at Lorne for a few moments before he remembered where he was.

'You don't look so good, sir,' Lorne told him, checking his pulse and frowning at what he found.

'Thanks for the vote of confidence,' Sheppard grinned weakly at him and lapsed into silence, finding it too much effort now to try to maintain the façade he had put up previously.

'We'll soon have you out of here. When Farrow and Carlton are rested up, we'll get started.' Lorne paused before speaking again. 'It's going to be a pretty uncomfortable ride I'm afraid. It might be a good idea to take some of these before we leave.' He held out four pills in one hand, a bottle of water in the other. John raised his eyebrows at the quantity he was being offered but swallowed them readily enough, choking a little on the water. 'I think you may need them, sir,' Lorne offered by way of explanation before turning back to where Farrow and Carlton were now standing, ready to get started.

'Ok, let's get him loaded.'

It took ten minutes to get John settled and secured on the stretcher. Ten minutes that saw the Colonel turning paler and paler before finally passing out. When they were ready, Mya insisted on checking John, having watched every thing that went on very closely. Only when she was satisfied would she let the others get near enough to start manoeuvring him to the tunnel.

Lorne put himself at the head of the stretcher with Farrow, indicating for Carlton to take the other end and bring up the rear. 'Mya, I want you to go out ahead of us. Do you think you could manage with the flashlight to show us where we're going?' Mya nodded, grabbing the light and the pack she had brought with her and proceeded to wriggle her way back into the tunnel, waiting a few feet in to light the path for the others.

-------------

'So where is he?' Beckett looked around where Ronon and the other personnel were standing, not seeing one of the few people for whom he'd gladly make a 'house' call.

'They haven't come out yet.' Ronon told him, his voice tense as he crouched before the opening not shifting his gaze, watching and listening for the first indication that the rescue party were on their way back.

'How long have they been gone?' Carson put down his equipment with relief, nodding his thanks at Marks who had carried some of the heavier bags.

'Too long,' Ronon told him gruffly.

'Farrow and Carlton set out nearly two hours ago,' Lt Neale advised him. 'It would have taken them around 45 minutes to get down there, then allowing time to rest and get the Colonel settled, it'll take an hour or more for the return as it's all uphill.'

'Thanks, son.' Beckett looked around at the terrain, quickly identifying the lack of level ground and the unsuitability for even attempting to treat Sheppard at this spot. 'When they get here, I'm going to need him moved to the bottom of the hill as quickly as possible. Can you arrange that for me?' Neale nodded and issued his instructions.

The minutes dragged by slowly. Silence fell on the group, a tense silence that showed the level of respect and concern for Atlantis' ranking military officer. After a few minutes, Beckett got to his feet and started looking around at the military personnel, his sharp eyes picking up a number of bruises and minor wounds.

'Ok, I may as well make myself useful while we're waiting and get you lot sorted out. It'll save my staff time when we get back as well.' Pulling on a pair of gloves, Beckett gestured to one of the soldiers who tried to look as though he hadn't noticed. 'Don't be such a baby,' Carson's voice sounded exasperated. He could never seem to get over how these men could fight a pitched battle without batting an eyelid but appeared to fear medical treatment as though it were some form of torture. Under Beckett's fierce gaze, the soldier had little choice but to approach and stand still while Beckett cleaned and dressed his wounds. 'Ok, who's next?' He asked when finished, relieved that the men had seen sense at last and presented themselves fairly promptly for their treatment.

He had checked all the military personnel and was about to turn his attention to Ronon when a crackling on the radio caught the attention of everyone, a stillness falling immediately over the group.

'…Lorne…' The reception was poor but they could make out enough to know their wait was nearly over. '…out in…ten minutes…stand by to assist.'

The next ten minutes seemed to last forever, but before the time was up, they could hear a scrabbling and a dusty and hot Mya emerged, accepting assistance warily from Ronon, but racing to a spot away from the others as soon as she was out.

Keeping a close watch on what was happening at the tunnel entrance, Beckett moved towards Mya slowly. Teyla had told him about the girl Sheppard had rescued, the only survivor of her people and her understandable caution around other people. He could see her watching him, her eyes narrowed as she sized him up, trying to determine if she should allow him to get any closer. Evidently the result was in his favour as she remained seated until he was standing right in front of her.

'I'm Dr Beckett ' He knelt down in front of her. 'And you must be Mya.' She nodded, then accepted the bottle of water he held out for her, watching him as she drank.

'Doctor.' Mya said as soon as she'd finished drinking, smiling shyly at him, before her eyes moved to the tunnel entrance as there was a sudden flurry of activity. Instantly Beckett moved into doctor mode and hurried over, watching as first Lorne and Farrow emerged, gratefully handing over the ropes that were pulling the stretcher to Ronon and the others waiting before moving out of the way. Almost immediately, the head of the stretcher appeared and willing hands pulled it out the rest of the way, allowing Beckett to briefly inspect his patient before heading to the bottom of the hill as soon as he gave the nod.

Barely waiting for the stretcher to be laid down as they reached level ground, Beckett began his work.

------------

To be continued… 

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


	7. Chapter 7

**Part Seven**

Beckett's cursory look at John as he emerged from the cave and Teyla's description of his injuries were enough to help him get started on treatment the moment they reached level ground. It was a long walk back to the 'jumper and he had to make sure John would be stable enough to survive the journey.

Although the wound itself was relatively clean, it was the subsequent loss of blood and the shock that were the biggest problem. Rapidly inserting IV lines into John's arm, Carson started him on fluids and blood, handing the bags to hands waiting to receive them and hold them above the patient. He checked the wound area once again, shaking his head in bewilderment at the green substance he had found underneath the dressing, but wisely leaving it in place after he tried lifting it away and found the bleeding started up again.

As soon as he was satisfied that he had done as much as he could, Carson stood and turned to those waiting for him to finish.

'He's stabilised for the time being,' he told them. 'But he's lost a lot of blood and we need to get him back to Atlantis as quickly as possible to continue treatment and monitoring.' He nodded at the men waiting to carry the Colonel to the 'jumper and went to follow them but was distracted by Lorne calling for him. As he turned around, he was in time to see Mya's legs give way beneath her and be caught by Lorne before she hit the ground.

Moving over to where Lorne was supporting the now unconscious Mya, Beckett checked her over, but his initial suspicions were confirmed almost immediately.

'It's not too serious,' Beckett assured Lorne. 'But she is exhausted. Do you know how long it's been since she slept or had anything to eat?'

'She can't have had any proper food since early yesterday, but she's had power bars,' Lorne thought over the events of the last two days. 'I'm guessing she's only had the odd nap here and there since then as well.' Lorne brushed the hair away from Mya's face as he looked back at Beckett.

'I guess it's not too much of a surprise then and sleep is the best thing for her right now. She's going to have a lot to deal with when she wakes up.' He frowned as he considered what she had been through before turning to Ronon. 'Can you carry her back to the 'jumper? I don't want to wake her up, and she probably couldn't make it that far anyway.'

Without speaking, Ronon moved forward and picked Mya up with ease and set off, followed by Beckett and Lorne with the remainder of the rescue party bringing up the rear.

'You know she's not really comfortable around most people at the moment,' Lorne said quietly to Beckett. 'Including Ronon. What if she wakes up?'

'I don't think she will,' Beckett assured the Major, 'but if it makes you feel better, we can walk a bit faster and keep up with them.'

Thirty minutes later the party reached the 'jumper and, with the pilot pushing the 'jumper as fast as he dared, they were through the 'gate and in the 'jumper bay in a very short time.

The moment they came to a halt, Beckett was issuing orders to the assembled medical team as John was wheeled away to the infirmary leaving the rest of the 'jumper's occupants to disembark where they found Dr Weir and Teyla waiting for them.

'Good work, everyone,' Elizabeth smiled, seeing the tiredness that was only now beginning to show on the faces of the rescue party. Now the situation had been resolved, they could allow themselves the luxury of giving in to their exhaustion. 'Get yourselves checked out and then get some rest.'

She turned her attention to Ronon who was still carrying Mya, Teyla having gone over to him as soon as she saw him exit the 'jumper.

'Is she alright?'

'She's suffering from exhaustion,' Lorne supplied as Ronon stood there without talking. 'Dr Beckett wanted her to go to the infirmary as soon as we returned.'

'In that case I won't keep you any longer.'

-------------

Beckett ran his fingers through his hair as he watched Sheppard being wheeled out to the main ward, thankful they only had minor complications to deal with. Knowing that Ronon and Teyla were most likely waiting to find out the latest news, he went out to put their minds at rest.

As expected, the two of them were waiting for him, along with Dr Weir.

'He's going to be fine,' Beckett assured them with a reassuring smile and could see all three of them visibly relax. 'The wound itself was easy to treat and shouldn't give any further problems. We're monitoring his heart and kidney functions as there is some irregularity caused by the blood loss, but I'm hoping they'll both return to normal without further treatment. Knowing the Colonel's usual rate of recovery, I suspect he'll be back on his feet in a few days though he will have to take things easy for a while and come back for regular check-ups.'

'Can we see him?'

'Aye, for a few moments.' Beckett gave his approval, knowing they would probably hang around bothering his staff if they didn't see for themselves that he was fine. 'But he's asleep so make sure you don't disturb him.'

'He doesn't look like he's been through hell and back does he?' Elizabeth murmured softly as she stood to one side of John's bed.

'Indeed,' Teyla smiled with relief. 'He does look remarkably child-like when asleep.'

'He behaves like a child when he's awake too, lass,' Beckett told her, 'at least when he's in here he does.'

Ronon said nothing, but took a long look at Sheppard to make sure he was alright before nodding at the other three and taking his leave.

Teyla, noticing the small figure curled up asleep in the bed next to John's, moved over and was joined by Beckett and Elizabeth.

'She's had a quick medical but apart from exhaustion, she's otherwise healthy,' Beckett told them. 'She slept through the whole process. I'm keeping her here until she wakes, then we'll need to see about alternative accommodation for her.'

'My people would be more than willing to provide a home for her,' Teyla told him. 'However she seems to have developed an attachment to Colonel Sheppard and I am not sure it would be wise to introduce her to new people just yet.'

'Aye, well, that's understandable in the circumstances,' Beckett told her, considering this. 'She's lost her family and all the people she knew and Colonel Sheppard is the one who was there for her.'

'I'm not sure that keeping her on Atlantis is such a good idea,' Elizabeth said. 'Surely this is a more alien environment than taking her to the mainland?'

'Well, yes, but it's not just the environment we have to consider,' Beckett moved towards the far end of the infirmary, followed by the other two. 'There's going to be emotional trauma and the person she seems to have bonded with is the Colonel. He may be the only person she'll allow to get close enough to help her through this.'

'I'm not sure how he'll feel about it,' Elizabeth considered this.

'In the meantime, I would be more than happy to watch over her,' Teyla offered. 'She knows me already and while Colonel Sheppard and Dr McKay are in the infirmary, I will not be needed to go off-world for a few days.'

'Thank you, Teyla,' Elizabeth smiled at her. 'We'll give her a few days to settle down and take it from there?' She looked at Beckett for confirmation that this would be acceptable, receiving a nod from him. 'I gather she's the one we've got to thank for getting Colonel Sheppard back to us more or less in one piece.'

'Yes, her father was a healer and she would often help him,' Teyla advised her. 'It is not uncommon for children to learn the trades of their parents from a very early age.'

'She used a leaf to stem the bleeding, and I suspect it also possesses some sort of antiseptic properties,' Beckett added. 'The nurses found a few more of them in her pockets so I'm going to take a look at them. You should get some rest now,' he changed the subject, turning to Teyla. 'You're exhausted and now you've seen for yourself that Colonel Sheppard and Mya are both alright, you should get yourself off to bed.'

'Very well,' Teyla nodded at Beckett and Elizabeth and took her leave.

-------------

John tried to open his eyes but they felt too heavy just at the moment so he contented himself with listening instead. The quiet beeps, the murmur of voices and the antiseptic smell told him where he was. Unwilling to give in to weakness any longer, he forced his eyes open, squinting at the brightness of the lights until he became used to them. Immediately a familiar figure hurried over to him, smiling a welcome at him.

'Hello doc,' John's voice was dry and croaky, soon remedied by the cool water Beckett handed to him to sip. 'So, what's the verdict? How long have I got?'

'That's not funny,' Beckett told him sternly before answering. 'You lost a considerable amount of blood which we've had to replace and we're monitoring your heart and kidneys to make sure they're working normally again. You were very lucky, the wound was cleaned well and there's no sign of infection.'

'I don't feel very lucky,' John winced as he shifted himself.

'It could have been a lot worse,' Beckett reminded him, helping him sit up.

'I guess I have Mya to thank for that.'

'Aye, you have.'

'Where is she, by the way?'

'She's asleep over there,' Beckett nodded at the next bed. 'She passed out right after they rescued you and has been asleep since.'

'Is she alright?' John frowned at this news.

'Apart from exhaustion, she's physically fit and healthy, but I would imagine there'll be some fallout from what she's experienced these last few days.'

'Uh-huh,' John responded noncommittally, though his eyes took on a thoughtful expression as he changed the subject, his eyes falling on the occupant of the bed on the other side of him. 'How's Rodney?'

'He had a nasty gash on his leg. I've had to keep him in here to give it chance to heal, but he should be out of my hair soon. He'll need to use crutches for a few days, though.'

'I bet he'll just love that,' John grinned at the image this conjured up. 'So, when can I get out of here?'

'Bored of my company already?' Beckett tried, and failed, to look offended. This was a familiar routine every time Sheppard had to spend any time in the infirmary. 'You'll have to stay for a few days, I'm afraid. As I said, you lost a lot of blood and I need to make sure everything is returning to normal before you leave.'

'But…'

'No arguments, Colonel. Now, you need to get some rest.'

John gave up the argument, he knew when Beckett used that tone it was useless to protest, but it wouldn't stop him trying again.

-------------

When John woke later, he again heard the sound of voices talking quietly, although this time the voices sounded more familiar. He lay for a while fighting the feeling of tiredness that ached through his whole body, the process interrupted by McKay's voice speaking sharply.

'What do you think you're doing? This isn't some kind of playground, you know. There are sick people in here.'

John's eyes shot open but couldn't see what McKay was making such a fuss about. He was about to say something when he felt someone on his other side grabbing his hand and holding on to it as tightly as they could.

'Mya!' He exclaimed as he recognised the top of her head. She was crouching down beside the bed, hiding from McKay. 'It's alright,' he spoke soothingly to her, squeezing her hand in return. 'What's wrong with you McKay?' John snapped at the other man. 'She's just a kid for crying out loud.'

'It's nice to see you, too,' Rodney said huffily as John returned his attention to Mya.

'Here, come and sit beside me, I'm sure Dr Beckett won't mind just this once.' He shifted awkwardly to one side of the bed. Mya looked up at him but made no move to do as he suggested, her eyes darting warily towards McKay.

'You don't have to worry about him, he won't hurt you,' John assured her. 'C'mon up.' He patted the bed and this time she clambered up and settled beside him.

Mya hugged him, then whispered something in his ear that made him grin and glance over at McKay before saying, 'I'm afraid he is.'

'What's she saying about me?' McKay demanded suspiciously.

'Nothing you need to worry about Rodney,' John grinned back at him before talking to Mya again. 'I hear…'

'No you don't,' Rodney snapped back making John smile even more. 'You tell me what she's been saying about me.'

'If you must know,' John heaved a sigh, his eyes twinkling, 'she wanted to know if you were always that grumpy.'

Rodney's mouth opened and closed for a few seconds but no words came out and eventually he threw himself back on his pillow, looking in the other direction and ignoring the two of them.

Mya whispered to him again. 'I'm going to be fine, Doctor Beckett fixed me up and I should be out of here in a couple of days. How are you doing?' Sadness filled Mya's eyes and she looked away, not yet ready to face the kindness she saw in John's face. 'Never mind,' John said hastily changing the subject, relieved when he saw Beckett, Teyla and Elizabeth approaching.

'It's about time you showed up,' John greeted them. 'I was beginning to think I was going to be stuck here with only Rodney for company.'

'You were asleep when we arrived before so we were talking to Dr Beckett,' Teyla ignored the sarcasm in his voice. 'How are you feeling?'

'Bit sore, but apart from that I'm fine. Don't really need to be in here at all,' he glared at Beckett for good measure.

'Doctor,' Mya greeted Beckett, her eyes narrowing suspiciously as she watched Elizabeth.

'Mya, this is Dr Weir – Elizabeth. She is our leader.' Teyla performed the introductions. Elizabeth watched the girl closely, noticing how she clung to John for reassurance and waited for the child to make the first move.

'Liz'beth,' Mya repeated the name, studying it's owner carefully before approaching her and wrapping her arms around her waist.

'It's nice to meet you Mya,' Elizabeth responded, a little bewildered.

'She trusts you, Dr Weir,' Teyla told her, smiling. 'But she is still uncomfortable around many people at present.'

'I brought something for you,' Elizabeth crouched down in front of Mya and held an object out to her.

Mya took it and looked at it curiously.

'It's a teddy bear,' Elizabeth told her. 'A cuddly toy that children on Earth have. I brought this one with me and thought you might like to have it.

'Liz'beth,' Mya hugged the bear close to her, liking the soft, squashy feeling of it, then returned to stand beside John, whispering into his ear again.

'She's hungry,' John announced, ruffling Mya's hair.

'I will attend to her, if that is alright with you?' Teyla looked at Beckett and John, who both nodded, and held out her hand to Mya who happily took it and went with her.

'I thought you'd like to know that Major Lorne has taken a team back to the planet to search for survivors,' Elizabeth told John as soon as Teyla and Mya had left. 'Ronon's gone with them.'

'Somehow I doubt they'll find any,' John told her, his facing taking on a grim expression.

'I'll let you know as soon as they report back,' Elizabeth promised. 'I'd better let you get some rest, you're looking tired.' John, fighting the desire to close his eyes, gave in and was asleep within moments of being left alone.

-------------------

To be continued… 

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


	8. Chapter 8

**Part Eight**

'So how's our new arrival settling in?' Elizabeth came up to the table in the corner of the mess hall where Teyla and Mya were finishing lunch. Teyla had waited until she knew the area would be nearly empty before coming, wanting Mya to become accustomed to being around different parts of the city without exposing her to too many people at one time.

'Liz'beth!' Mya held up the teddy from where it was sitting on her lap, beaming a smile at Dr Weir.

'Hello Mya,' Elizabeth returned the smile.

'We are both fine,' Teyla answered Elizabeth's question. 'I have shown Mya my quarters so she could see where she will be staying for the next few days. Several people have brought items that Mya can use to keep herself entertained – word seems to have spread very quickly.'

'It always amazes me how that happens,' Elizabeth agreed.

'We are going to explore some of the city this afternoon, then we will return to the infirmary to visit Colonel Sheppard again. He has promised to tell Mya a bedtime story.' Teyla and Elizabeth looked at each other and smiled at the thought of this.

'I think perhaps I ought to stop by and see how Colonel Sheppard is doing later,' Elizabeth suggested. 'It's only what can be expected of a good leader, after all.'

'I am sure he will appreciate it,' Teyla said. 'And I should be there to escort Mya back to my quarters after he has finished.'

'Absolutely,' Elizabeth nodded her head then stood to leave. 'Until later.'

------------

'And they all lived happily ever after,' John finished just as Elizabeth and Teyla arrived, disappointing both women who had been intrigued as to what story he would be telling. His previous storytelling attempts had consisted of the plots from a number of horror movies told to the Athosian children, stories they had lapped up with enthusiasm but which were hardly suitable for someone as young as Mya, particularly considering her current fragile emotional state.

'Was it a good story?' Teyla smiled at Mya, though the smile didn't reach her eyes. Mya returned the smile and nodded sleepily, hugging John before she climbed down from beside him, readily consenting to take Teyla's hand and be led off to bed.

As soon as they were gone, John looked questioningly at Elizabeth who shook her head sadly. As he was telling the story, his thoughts kept going to the meeting Teyla had gone to after she had dropped Mya off at the infirmary, knowing that the meeting was to be with Dr Weir, Major Lorne and the returned search party without Teyla having to say anything.

'It was pretty much as you expected, I'm afraid,' Elizabeth told him. 'They found several people who escaped being burnt but they had been hunted down and killed before they could get away. Major Lorne and his team took care of the bodies, but it was a pretty gruesome mission for them.'

'Sounds it. How's Ronon taking it?'

'Not well – I suggested he take himself off to the gym, though I'm not sure how much good it'll do.'

'It was a good idea though – you should have seen him when we were there first time around, he made me real glad he was on our side.'

'I know exactly what you mean, I'd hate to get on the wrong side of him.' Elizabeth fell silent for a moment before speaking again. 'Well, I guess I'd better let you get some rest – I can see Dr Beckett hovering. Good night.'

'Good night.'

-----------

Teyla had just fallen asleep when a murmuring from the hastily provided cot beside the bed woke her, the murmuring quickly turning to cries of fear.

'Hush, Mya,' Teyla picked her up and returned to the bed, holding the child close to her and rubbing her back reassuringly. 'It is a bad dream, you are quite safe.' Soon Mya calmed down and turned troubled eyes to look at Teyla. 'Come, you must try and sleep again. I will remain close so you know you are safe.' Reluctantly Mya lay down, hugging the teddy bear tightly but reassured now by the warmth she could feel as Teyla lay beside her.

Mya's nightmares continued, though not as bad as the first one, but Teyla knew that they were a result of the horror Mya had witnessed and until she was willing to talk about it, the nightmares would return.

------------

'How's it going?' John asked eagerly, having become bored very quickly with nothing to do in the infirmary. 'And what have you done with Mya?'

'We visited different parts of the City this morning,' Teyla smiled, understanding John's frustration at enforced idleness. 'Then after lunch we returned to my quarters as Mya was tired and she spent the remainder of the afternoon drawing pictures. She seems to enjoy this activity very much – she is with Dr Beckett at the moment to give him a picture she made for him.'

'I'm glad she's settling down,' John's face took on a more serious expression. 'She's been through a lot – she was very lucky to have survived at all.'

'Yes she was,' Teyla smiled at him before her face turned serious again. 'Mya does not trust many people here, but you are the one she trusts most as her father handed her into your care.'

'You reckon?' John looked doubtful but didn't pursue the matter any further. 'There's something else isn't there?'

'Yes,' Teyla admitted. 'Mya had several nightmares last night – and Dr Beckett told me she also had some while she was in here - but she was unwilling to talk about them. He says that although she is otherwise healthy, she is suffering from post…post…' Teyla hesitated, unable to remember the phrase he had used.

'Post-traumatic stress,' John filled in for her, beginning to understand now.

'Yes,' Teyla nodded. 'Until she talks to someone, the nightmares will continue and she could become ill. It would appear that you will probably be the one she will want to talk to.'

'Me?' John's voice squeaked. He cleared his throat before speaking again. 'Wouldn't it be better if Dr Heightmeyer…'

'Dr Beckett said it would be better for her to talk to someone she knows and trusts,' Teyla interrupted his argument. 'Besides, I know you are more than capable of doing this.'

'What if I screw it up?' John asked doubtfully. Teyla looked at him knowingly and ignored the comment. She, along with those closest to him, understood that despite his outward reluctance to admit to it, John's concern for Mya went beyond just a sense of duty.

'Here is Mya now,' Teyla said instead, standing to take her leave. 'I will return soon.'

-----------

'Doctor,' Mya greeted Beckett as he was frowning over some test results on his laptop. He looked up, glad of the welcome distraction and smiled as Mya shyly held something out to him.

'Thank you,' he said, taking a picture from her. He studied it carefully, his face lighting up at what he saw: it was a picture of himself with a long row of patients in beds, all sitting up and looking remarkably healthy for people in the somewhat larger-than-life infirmary. 'That's lovely, my dear. I'm going to put it up right here.' Suiting his actions to his words, Beckett pinned the picture up on the wall right above his desk.

Relieved that he liked it, Mya left Beckett and made her way back towards John but instead of stopping, she continued towards Rodney, surprising both John and Rodney. Watching her warily, Rodney reluctantly accepted the picture she gave to him. As with Beckett, the picture was of himself, a big smile drawn on his face and he was standing in the middle of a garden surrounded by flowers with the sun shining down on him.

'I think she's trying to tell you something.' John grinned as he leaned over as far as he could to peer at the drawing.

'Oh, thank you, it's very nice,' Rodney said awkwardly, then reached for the glass of water beside him, somehow managing to knock it over. Mya quickly picked it up for him, refilling it before returning it, her eyes studying his face as his warm hand touched hers. 'What are you staring at?' He asked more sharply than he intended.

Instead of answering, Mya raced towards Beckett's office and returned a few moments later tugging the hand of a confused and bewildered doctor.

'Roddy,' Mya said insistently, pointing towards McKay who winced as she mispronounced his name.

Understanding dawned on Beckett's face as he thanked the little girl before handing her back over to John while he rapidly checked Rodney's temperature and pulse and took a look at the wound on his leg.

'What's wrong?' Rodney demanded irritably. 'Why are you looking like that? Oh god, I'm going to lose my leg aren't I?'

'Don't be so over-dramatic, Rodney,' Beckett told McKay, his voice patient. 'You've got a fever because of an infection in the wound. I can treat it easily enough, but you will need to stay in a little while longer I'm afraid.'

'But you said…'

'I know what I said and now I'm saying the situation has changed and you'll have to stay longer,' Beckett was used to dealing with difficult patients – Atlantis was full of them and he knew just how to handle them.

'How come Sheppard gets to leave tomorrow? I've been here longer than he has, I should be leaving first.'

'Because he doesn't have an infection and can rest just as easily in his quarters, though I'll be keeping an eye on him.' Beckett glanced over at John to see if he had heard but he was too busy with Mya to take much notice of anything else.

'That is absolutely typical of him,' Rodney fumed. 'It's the same every time – everywhere we go he gets the girls running around after him.'

'Rodney, she's eight years old.'

'He just has to turn on that charm of his and they all drop at his feet.' Rodney appeared not to have heard Beckett.

'Swallow these, please.' Beckett handed him a couple of tablets and a glass of water.

Rodney dutifully swallowed them, then looked suspiciously at the doctor. 'What were they?'

'Something that will help the infection and bring the fever down,' Beckett smiled at him before continuing. 'Oh, and they may make you a little drowsy as well.'

Rodney's eyes were already starting to close as Beckett departed, stopping as John called to him.

'Is he alright?'

'Just a minor infection, he'll be right as rain in a day or two.' Beckett ruffled Mya's hair, smiling at her as she looked up at him. 'Well-spotted, young lady, we'll have to get you working in here,' he joked.

Mya looked away, a haunted expression in her eyes and Beckett looked apologetically at John. 'It'll be fine,' John spoke quietly as Mya buried her face in his chest. 'I need to finish the story anyway.'

------------

'Good morning,' Elizabeth greeted Teyla and Mya as they arrived in her office the next morning.

'This is very good of you, Dr Weir,' Teyla said as she handed over a pile of paper and crayons and several games.

'I know how much it means for you to be with your people for the festival,' Elizabeth smiled at her. 'It'll be no problem – Major Lorne isn't scheduled to go off-world for a few days so he'll be able to lend a hand if needed.'

Teyla was about to leave to return to the mainland that day for the festival of life, a celebration for those who had survived the wraith attacks and to remember those who had fallen. She had been fully prepared to forego attending the festival this time until Elizabeth found out she had cancelled with the 'jumper pilot assigned to take her. Elizabeth had persuaded her that there were enough people who could look after Mya while she was gone and after much persuasion, Teyla had decided to go after all.

'I will be back in the morning, Mya,' Teyla assured the little girl who had settled herself down in the corner of the office, working on a picture she had already begun. Teyla smiled at Elizabeth. 'It is difficult to get her to do anything else, other than to visit Colonel Sheppard.'

As soon as she had said these words, Mya stood up and came over to the two women.

'John?' She looked at them expectantly.

'Leave it to me, you get yourself off,' Elizabeth ushered Teyla out of the door and turned back to Mya. 'Ok, I guess it's time we paid a visit to John.' With a big smile on her face, Mya grabbed Elizabeth's hand and began to tug her towards the door. 'Ok, we're going,' Elizabeth picked up the pace and allowed Mya to lead the way to the place she was most familiar with in the city.

They had almost reached their destination when Elizabeth received an urgent summons back to the control room. Hesitating briefly, she realised that Mya knew as well as anyone where she was going and waited only to see her enter the infirmary where she knew she would be watched over by Sheppard and Beckett before hurrying back to the control room to deal with the latest emergency.

-------------

Rodney could feel someone shaking him by the arm. Assuming it to be one of the nurses, he grunted angrily and pulled away. The shaking persisted, this time accompanied by a small voice. 'Roddy.' Trying to control his annoyance, he opened his eyes groggily and looked at Mya who was standing beside him and pointing to the now empty bed next to him. 'John?'

'He's gone,' Rodney said in surprise, even more surprised at Mya's reaction. She backed away from him, her eyes wide with some emotion he couldn't quite figure out.

'Mama gone. Papa gone.' She spoke so quietly he could barely make it out. While his confused brain tried to make sense of what she had said, Mya turned around clutching her teddy close to her and raced towards the exit,

'No, I didn't mean…' his voice trailed off as he realised she could no longer hear him. Struggling to get out of bed, wondering where everyone was for once, he tried to follow Mya but found his legs unwilling to co-operate and he sank to the floor as his legs turned to jelly. 'Hello? Anyone there? Hello?'

Several minutes of yelling later, a nurse eventually turned up, scolding him for trying to get out of bed before she fetched someone else to help her get him back into bed.

'Where's Dr Beckett?' Rodney demanded irritably, something that most of the infirmary staff were familiar with by now. His fever-soaked brain was struggling to remember what it was he needed to see Beckett about, but he knew it was important.

'He's busy right now,' the nurse told him. 'I'll get him to stop by as soon as he can.'

'That's not good enough,' Rodney snapped back. 'I need to see him now.'

'I'm afraid you'll just have to wait,' the nurse's voice was beginning to sound impatient. 'I have other work to be getting on with. I'll ask Dr Beckett to come and see you when he's free. Here, you dropped something.' She bent down and picked up a piece of paper from under the bed, handing it to him. As Rodney looked at it, his memory cleared and everything became a whole lot clearer.'

'Mya…' his voice croaked. 'Mya.' He repeated, this time louder bringing the nurse back to him.

'That's the little girl who came back with Colonel Sheppard?' She said, wondering if Dr McKay was delirious.

'Yes. She was here just now, to see him, but I told her he had gone,' Rodney looked extremely uncomfortable as he related the episode. 'I don't think she understood, I think she thinks he's dead, like her parents. She ran off before I could explain. Someone's got to find her.'

'I'll see to it,' the nurse told him crisply, her voice saying clearly what she thought of him. 'You just get some rest and stop being such a nuisance.' For once doing as he was told, he lay back down and watched as the nurse disappeared.

-------------

To be continued… 

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


	9. Chapter 9

**Part Nine**

Elizabeth had just finished speaking to Lt. Mayhew, the reason for the urgent summons, and was now waiting for Dr Beckett to arrive.

'We have a situation with Lt Mayhew's team,' she began as soon as he appeared. 'I need you to take a medical team to the village they were visiting. They've been hit by something that looks like measles and the villagers seem to think our people had something to do with it and are refusing to let them go unless we can remedy the situation.'

'It would be better if Dr Machin took this one,' Carson told her.

'You wouldn't just be trying to avoid going off-world again, would you?' Elizabeth asked suspiciously.

'Not this time, no,' Carson replied with relief that at least on this occasion he had a genuine excuse. 'Dr Machin is a virologist and was working at NIH before she joined us. She is the best person for this.'

'Very well,' Elizabeth conceded. 'Get the team together, I need them ready to move out in thirty minutes. Lt Mayhew will meet them on their arrival but I'll send another unit with them as well for backup. If nothing else, they can help carry the equipment.'

'I'll get right on it.'

Beckett arrived in the infirmary at the same time as Dr Machin, who he had spoken to on the radio and given her a brief summary of the situation as he left Dr Weir.

'You've been wanting to go off-world since you got here,' Beckett got straight to the point, smiling at the eager new arrival. 'Well now it seems you've got your chance.' Rapidly he explained what would be required before allowing her to select the other members of the medical team she would take with her and gathering the equipment that would be needed.

For the next twenty minutes Beckett was kept very busy, responding to questions and giving orders to his people who showed how well they worked as a team. Making a mental note to tell them what a good job they were doing at the first opportunity, he was interrupted by the infirmary's duty nurse who had been hovering for some time, waiting for an opportune moment to talk to him.

'What is it?' He asked, sensing that something was not right. 'Is it Dr McKay – is he worse?'

'I think his fever's up again, but there's something else,' the nurse told him, getting straight to the point. 'He said that little girl came to visit Colonel Sheppard. Apparently there was some kind of misunderstanding and she ran off. I spoke to one of the SO's and he's got people out looking for her – she can't have gone too far but they haven't found her yet.'

'Ok, I've got it now. Dr Machin,' he called out as she went to pass him. 'Something's come up that I need to deal with. Good luck with the mission.' And with that he headed back to the main ward to find out what had happened, speaking to Elizabeth as he went so she could widen the search for the missing child.

'Thank god,' Rodney said with relief as soon as Beckett appeared. He had been waiting for hours, at least that's what if felt like, referring to the picture before him as a constant reminder of the urgency of the situation. 'I didn't realise…I never meant…'

'Slow down and tell me from the beginning,' Carson calmed the agitated scientist down, making him drink some water before he continued. 'There are search parties already looking for Mya.'

'That's good,' Rodney said with relief. 'She woke me up when she couldn't find Sheppard. I hadn't realised he'd already left. Wasn't he supposed to leave this afternoon?'

'Rodney.' Beckett's voice jerked McKay away from his fevered ramblings, bringing him back to the present.

'Right, of course. I told her he'd gone, then she said…what was it…something about her mum and dad being gone and then she ran off. I didn't realise straight away what she meant and that she'd misunderstood me. I tried to go after her but my stupid legs wouldn't work and then the nurse said she'd speak to you as soon as you were free. She dropped this.' He held the picture out for Beckett to look at.

'You know it's not your fault, don't you?' Beckett reassured Rodney who was beginning to look decidedly upset and flushed, placing a thermometer in his mouth. 'That's what I thought,' he continued as he removed the thermometer. 'You're temperature's up again, you need to get some rest. Now.'

'But…'

'No buts,' Beckett spoke insistently as he returned with a syringe in his hand. 'You're going to make yourself worse if you're not careful.' He injected the contents of the syringe into the tube attached to Rodney's arm and within a few moments Rodney's eyes slid closed and he fell asleep.

'What happened?' Elizabeth arrived, anxious to know what had caused Mya to run off. Beckett quickly related what had happened.

'Any sign of her?' He asked as he finished up.

'She was spotted using one of the transporters,' Elizabeth told him. 'She was probably trying to get back to Teyla's quarters but she didn't arrive there. She hasn't been seen anywhere else and she hasn't been picked up on the life signs detectors. There have been problems with the power relays in the lower levels and the detectors aren't working there so we're assuming that's where she must be, though we haven't stopped looking in other areas. Major Lorne was already there running several of the teams through some manoeuvres and he's got them searching for her.'

'Should we bring Teyla back?' Beckett suggested.

'She's due back first thing in the morning,' Elizabeth considered this. 'I'd like to leave her where she is if possible. What about Colonel Sheppard?'

'He's resting in his quarters – at least he's supposed to be.' Carson smiled wryly. 'I told him I'd be checking up on him from time to time just to make sure, so it's possible that's what he is doing.'

'We really ought to let him know,' Elizabeth said, looking to the doctor for confirmation that she could do so.

'I know, but it's not going to be easy.' Carson sighed as he considered the situation.

'I'll come with you. Something tells me he's not going to handle this very well.'

---------------

'Where do you think you're going?' Carson stood between John and the door. Elizabeth's prediction had become very real. The moment John had heard the news he got up from his bed where he had been resting much to Beckett's surprise, and headed for the door.

'I'm going to look for her,' John snapped, trying hard to control his temper. 'Get out of my way – I don't want to hurt you.'

'No you're not, son,' Beckett said firmly, unswayed by the threat of violence. 'Major Lorne has already got his team in the area we think she's in, as soon as she's found we'll have her brought here. If you want to help her, you need to stay here and rest.'

'You have got to be kidding,' John forced himself to calm down. 'I am not going to lie around here while that poor kid gets scared out of her wits by some stranger chasing her all over the place.'

'She is familiar with Major Lorne,' Elizabeth told him. 'He will do whatever it takes to make this as easy as possible for her.'

'But…'

'If you don't do as I ask, I will sedate you,' Beckett silenced John's protests firmly. 'Look,' he continued in a gentler tone. 'I know you feel responsible for her but you'll have your work cut out for you when she is found and you're going to be no good to man nor beast if you wear yourself out by running around the city.'

'Ok, but you better make sure you let me know the moment she's found,' John gave in at last, unwilling to admit that in spite of his protests, he was feeling extremely tired.

------------

'You have got to be kidding! Zelenka, tell me you're getting this sorted.' Lorne growled into his radio as the lights flickered again and finally went out. Waiting for the emergency lighting to come on, he switched on one of the flashlights they all had to hand since the lights had first started playing up. Listening to the response he got, he nodded before addressing the search teams. 'Everyone ok? This is the last section to check but it looks as though we'll be without light for the time being so mind how you go. If anyone catches sight of her, let me know immediately. Let's move out.'

There were twelve of them searching the area, covering the ground thoroughly and efficiently but as yet no-one had caught sight of the little girl they were searching for. They all knew about her by now, word spread very quickly around Atlantis, and they also knew that it was extremely likely she would try to keep away from everyone looking for her except Major Lorne.

'Andrews to Lorne, I've just seen movement in the farthest lab.' At last they had a firm sighting of her, Lorne was beginning to think the information they had received from the control room must have been incorrect, now he breathed a sigh of relief that at least the search was drawing to a close.

'Do not pursue any further, I'm on my way. Lorne out.'

A few moments later, Lorne joined Andrews where he was waiting at the entrance to the lab currently being used as a storage room. 'Zelenka, we could really use some lighting here. What's going on?'

'We are working as quickly as we can but there are problems with circuitry,' Zelenka's voice responded to the appeal for information. 'We have to bypass many circuits but it is going to take time. I am sorry it is not better news.'

'What about the emergency lights – we're working in the dark.'

'I know, but the fault is affecting all systems in that section.'

'I'd better let you get on with it then.'

'Yes, very good idea.'

Lorne turned back to Andrews and several others who had finished their own search area and had now arrived here.

'Ok, I'm going in on my own. Andrews, Taylor, I want you to keep watch on this entrance to make sure she doesn't slip past me, everyone else fall back to the main stairway. If she does get out again, I don't want her having to face up to a large group of armed men.'

Lorne entered the lab using the flashlight to get his bearings, noting there were a number of rows of storage bins and workbenches and Mya could be hiding behind any of them.

'Mya, it's Major Lorne – Marcus,' he announced his presence into the darkness. 'If you can make a noise to let me know where you are, I'll come and find you as quickly as I can.' He fell silent and waited for a response. After a few minutes, he thought he heard a faint sound coming from somewhere in the middle of the room but couldn't be certain and knew he would have to do this the hard way, searching each of the aisles in turn.

He had searched just over half the room when the beam from his flashlight fell on something lying at the end of one of the aisles. Hurrying forward, he bent down and retrieved a teddy bear, recalling that Dr Weir had given one to Mya and that she must have dropped it in the dark. Hoping this meant he was getting close now, he moved more warily, unwilling to frighten Mya even more than she must be already.

As he reached the last aisle, he breathed a sigh of relief as he caught a glimpse of the little girl at last. She was crouching, half hidden behind a crate and seemed ready to flee as soon as she caught sight of him.

'Mya, it's alright. I'm here to help you,' Lorne spoke softly. 'I think you dropped something, I'm sure you want it back. I'm just going to sit down here and you can come and fetch it.'

Suiting his actions to his words, Lorne backed up against the nearest wall and sat down, placing the bear a short distance away from him so Mya wouldn't feel threatened. He laid the flashlight on the floor beside him, illuminating the area without being blinding and waited.

Several minutes passed before he noticed a movement at the end of the aisle, the sensation that one section of darkness was making its way toward him. Her progress was slow as she paused every few steps to assess the situation, gradually becoming faster as she perceived no threat and no movement from himself. At last he could make her out in the dim light as she approached the bear hesitantly, stooping down to pick it up before hugging it close to her with both arms, watching him as she did so but not retreating again.

'What's his name?' Lorne pointed to the bear, trying to get Mya to relax.

'Liz'beth,' she whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear.

'That's a good name. I expect you'd like to get out of here, wouldn't you?'

Mya looked at him thoughtfully, part of her trusting him as she had before, the other part not wanting to get too close to anyone and risk getting hurt again. Before she could make up her mind a noise distracted them both and as Lorne got to his feet, Mya raced forward the last few steps and grabbed his hand. Relieved that there was one less problem to deal with, he led the way to the doorway to find it was now sealed off.

'Andrews, what's going on?' He snapped into his radio. All he received in response were a few isolated words and a lot of crackling as something interfered with the transmission. 'Lorne to Zelenka. Lorne to control. Can anybody hear me?' Giving up on the radio, he moved up to the door itself to see if there was any way he could get it open, or failing that, communicate with those on the other side of it.

As he drew close to the door, he jumped back as something gave him a shock. He studied the door more closely, realising a force field was protecting it from tampering and preventing him from getting close enough to the control panel and figuring out a way to get it open.

'Hello? Andrews? Taylor? Can you hear me?' He yelled as loud as he could, but other than the faint sound of voices on the other side was unable to establish any kind of communication. He turned to Mya who was looking up at him, fear in her eyes at the sudden change in their situation.

------------

To be continued… 

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


	10. Chapter 10

**Part Ten**

'Zelenka, this is Weir, please tell me you have some good news.'

'We are making some progress,' Zelenka's voice responded in her ear. 'We have restored power to some areas but we are still unable to access the last section.'

'Why not?'

'The power relays have to work in sequence otherwise everything blows. This whole area requires major work to bring it up to our requirements, but all we are trying to do at the moment is release those who are currently trapped.'

'How much longer do you think it'll take?'

'I am not sure. Two, maybe three hours.'

'Very well, let me know if the situation changes.' Elizabeth turned to Dr Beckett who was waiting to find out the latest. 'He's not going to like this,' she said to him, referring to Sheppard.

'No, and he hasn't really been resting at all. He is more tired than he's willing to admit, I'm afraid I'm going to have to do something about it.' Beckett pulled a face then got up to leave, stopping off at the infirmary briefly before continuing to John's quarters.

Entering without knocking, Beckett found the colonel pacing up and down the room restlessly.

'Don't you know how to knock?' John snapped at him as he went to sit on the bed. 'Any news?'

As Beckett hesitated, John stopped in his tracks. 'What is it?' His eyes narrowed as he asked the question.

'There's been a wee hiccup,' Beckett said at last, trying to figure out the best way to break the news.

'What kind of hiccup?'

'Mya was seen in one of the labs being used for storage. Major Lorne followed her but right after he went in the power failed in that section and a short time ago the doors automatically sealed off. There have been problems with the power relays there all day.'

'Get Zelenka on it then,' John bit out.

'He's already working on it,' Elizabeth, arriving at that moment, told him. 'We'll get them out of there as soon as we can.'

'What kind of timescale are we looking at?' John had the feeling he wasn't being told everything.

'Dr Zelenka estimates another two to three hours.'

'That's not good enough. What about the Daedalus? Can't they use the transporters?'

'We're considering that option,' Elizabeth told him, 'but the Daedalus isn't due back for another couple of hours. When it gets here…'

'There must be something I can do,' John scowled at Elizabeth, not giving her chance to finish. 'I'm going…'

'We've been through this before, Colonel,' Beckett's voice interrupted John's rant. 'You are not fit enough to go anywhere.' Carson was busy sizing up John's condition, noting the grey pallor of his skin and the shadows under his eyes.

'There's nothing wrong with me.' John's irritability was another indication of his physical state. 'You released me from the infirmary didn't you?'

'Yes, on the condition that you returned to your quarters and rested,' Carson reminded him. 'And I'm beginning to think I made the wrong decision. I'm sorry, Colonel, but I'm going to have to ask you to return to the infirmary where I can keep an eye on you.'

'I'm not going anywhere,' John insisted. 'I need to be…'

'You need to be in the infirmary and getting some proper rest.' Beckett's voice was uncompromising.

'And I suppose you're going to make me?'

'If I have to, yes.'

'I'd like to see you try.'

'John, you need to co-operate,' Elizabeth took a hand. 'I understand how you feel, but you're helping no-one if you refuse to return to the infirmary.'

'You mean you'll get some of my own men to escort me if I won't go? I am their superior officer, in case you hadn't noticed.'

'And I am the chief medical officer and will relieve you of duty if I have to.' Beckett paused to allow the information to sink in. 'I'd rather not do that, but if you won't come willingly you'll leave me no choice.'

John glared at the other man for a few moments before getting slowly to his feet. The altercation had taken more out of him than he realised however and Beckett was only just in time to catch him and guide him back to the bed before he passed out.

-----------

'How is he?' John could hear Elizabeth's voice somewhere nearby.

'Exhausted,' Carson's voice replied. 'He should be fine after a few hours sleep.'

'I'm fine now,' John opened his eyes to find himself back in the infirmary. 'At least I would be if I weren't here.'

'You are not fine,' Carson told him mildly. 'In case you don't remember, you passed out from exhaustion when we were in your quarters.'

'Oh that,' John tried to dismiss the incident. 'Probably just low blood sugar. Honestly, there's nothing wrong with me. Besides, I don't feel like sleeping right now.'

'You're blood sugar is just fine, Colonel,' Beckett spoke firmly. 'You're blood pressure and pulse, however, are not. And this,' he gave John a shot of something in his arm, 'will help you sleep.'

'But what if…' John's eyes were beginning to grow heavy but he still fought to keep them open.

'It's only something to help you relax, we can wake you quite easily if we need to. Believe me, you'll feel much better after this.'

'That's what you say,' John mumbled, trying to protest further but found it far too much effort now and allowed sleep to overtake him.

'Well that went better than I expected,' Beckett smiled sourly at Elizabeth.

'I'll let you know as soon as we hear anything more,' Elizabeth told him before she departed to find out what progress Dr Zelenka and his team had made.

------------

Lorne knelt down in front of Mya, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking into her face as he spoke. 'Do you trust me?' Mya nodded slowly, her eyes filling with tears. 'We're going to be fine, some of our best people will be working on getting us out of here.'

The events of the last few days were too much for Mya and the kind words from Lorne made it impossible for her to hold back any longer. Throwing her arms around his neck, Mya burst into tears, clinging to him for reassurance. Remaining where he was, Lorne pulled Mya into a hug, rubbing her back soothingly until the crying eased and he loosened his hold on her and, calling on his experiences with his sister's kids, Lorne set about making the time pass as quickly as possible for both of them.

It wasn't easy – many of the ideas he came up with were dependent on all parties speaking and since he had found her Mya had said nothing at all, and before that she had only really talked to Colonel Sheppard. Instead, he resorted to trying to recall some of the stories his nephews enjoyed, figuring that if he didn't get them quite right, Mya wouldn't know the difference.

Fortunately he seemed to have hit on a successful formula. He sat with his back against a wall, his legs stretched out in front of him, Mya beside him still clutching her teddy tightly. As soon as he began to relate the first story, one of Aesop's fables - The Tortoise and The Hare - he knew he had her attention. As the story unfolded, Lorne learnt to read the puzzled expressions on her face as he referred to animals and other things she had never come across before, having to figure out a way of describing them so that she would understand and enjoy the story all the more.

As soon as he finished The Tortoise and The Hare, Mya prodded his arm and looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to start another story. Racking his brain, he decided on another fable, this time The Goose With The Golden Eggs. By the time he had finished this one, Mya had made herself comfortable, nudging her way underneath his arm until she was leaning comfortably against him and he only realised she had fallen asleep when she made no move when he finished the story.

Resting his head back against the wall, he closed his eyes briefly and considered the situation. They had been trapped in this room for nearly an hour now and there was still no indication of the power returning and he could hear no evidence that anyone was on the other side of the door trying to get them out, although he was certain that Dr Zelenka and his team would be working frantically to remedy the situation.

Still, it was worth trying the radio again, just in case. 'Lorne to Zelenka. Lorne to Weir. Lorne to anyone who can hear me.' It was no use, the only thing he could hear was the gentle hiss that told him the radio wasn't getting through the force field shielding the door. Shrugging his shoulders, he figured he may as well follow Mya's example and get some rest while he had the opportunity.

He had just closed his eyes when he felt Mya shiver as she slept, snuggling closer to him to try and warm herself up. Moving as little as possible, he shrugged his vest off, followed by his jacket which he wrapped around Mya, the jacket almost large enough to act as a blanket.

As Mya settled back down, Lorne found himself starting to drift off to sleep when the significance of the change in air temperature brought him fully awake in an instant. Carefully shifting Mya away from him, he got to his feet and did a circuit of the room, frowning as he returned to his starting point.

The air was definitely cooler in here than it was earlier, the drop in temperature radiating from the walls on the far side of the room, the ones that were on the outside of the building. It was the middle of winter, and if he wasn't mistaken, the temperature was going to drop even further and he had no time to lose in making preparations if they were to be stuck here for much longer.

'This is Lorne. I don't know if anyone can hear me but I'm trapped in here with Mya. We're both fine at the moment but the temperature is beginning to drop and it's going to get pretty damn cold in here before too long. I'd really appreciate it if someone could do something about getting us out of here.'

-------------

'Dr Weir to the control room.' Elizabeth got the message as she was finishing lunch, noting the urgency in the technician's voice that had her hurrying to the control room as quickly as she could move.

'What have you got?' Elizabeth asked as soon as she arrived, seeing the anxious looks on the faces of those present.

'A short time ago we received a message from Major Lorne,' Sergeant Read reported. 'It was pretty garbled, but you can make out most of it.'

'Let's hear it then,' Elizabeth spoke impatiently, knowing Lorne was their only connection tothat part of the city.

'There's something else, ma'am,' Read continued. 'The sensors in that area came on line briefly, but long enough for us to see that the environmental controls are off-line in that section.'

Elizabeth swallowed, then got her emotions back under control as she nodded to Read to replay the message from Lorne.

'…Lorne. I don't know…can hear…trapped…Mya. We're both fine…temperature…to drop…damn cold …out of here.'

Elizabeth nodded as she got the gist of the message. 'Get Dr Beckett up here right away,' she said to Read. 'Also, contact the Daedalus and let them know what's happening. I need them back as soon as they can get here.' Read didn't respond as he set about carrying out Elizabeth's orders.

'Zelenka, this is Weir. I need you to step things up – we've just discovered the environmental controls in the last section are off-line. They don't have much time in there.'

'Understood. Zelenka out.'

Elizabeth turned to Beckett as he arrived in time to hear her speaking to Zelenka. 'Did you get that?' Beckett nodded. 'What can we expect?'

'Hypothermia most likely if they're in there for long,' Beckett rapidly ran through the potential problems in his mind. 'Confusion, rapid loss of body temperature and drowsiness. Major Lorne should be ok for a few hours, Mya will probably develop the symptoms more quickly. Lorne should be able to remain alert enough to make some attempt to keep themselves warm.'

'Dr Weir, we have big problem,' Zelenka's voice sounded panicked.

'Go ahead.'

'We cannot fix the power relays quickly enough. Every time we repair one, another one fails. And…'

'And what?' Elizabeth's anxiety levels went right up as she heard Zelenka swear in Czech.

'The room Major Lorne is in used to be science lab. It has failsafe in case of accident, that is why forcefield around room,' Zelenka's English became more broken as he tried to get the words out quickly enough. 'I believe that next stage will be for vacuum to be created to eliminate harmful substance.'

There was a pause while Elizabeth and Beckett absorbed this information. 'Do we know how long before that happens?'

'It should have happened already, but system is malfunctioning and may not happen at all. We are attempting to bypass failsafes and shut the program down.'

'I see. Is there anythingwe can do to help?'

'I'm afraid not. Zelenka out.'

Sergeant Read, waiting for Elizabeth to finish her conversation with Zelenka, spoke up. 'Ma'am, the Daedalus will be here within half an hour. They made better time than expected thanks to some modifications Hermiod made to the hyperdrive engines.'

'That's the first bit of good news I've had all day,' Elizabeth smiled tensely, knowing she wouldn't be able to relax until Lorne and Mya were safely out of that lab.

'Should we let Colonel Sheppard know?' Beckett said, half to himself.

'Is he still asleep?' Elizabeth asked.

'He was when I left, though I'd expect the sedative to begin wearing off sometime in the next hour.'

'Then perhaps we should wait until he wakes himself. Hopefully by then this will all be over.'

'You know he's going to be pretty mad when he finds out we kept this from him,' Beckett raised his eyebrows at Elizabeth.

'Yes, but there'll be nothing he can do about it, the same as there's nothing he can do now and that would be even harder for him to bear – at least this way we can stop him from worrying himself into an early grave.'

'Aye, I see your point, but I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when he does find out.'

------------

'Atlantis, this is Daedalus, we're just coming into transport range now.' As soon as Elizabeth heard Colonel Caldwell's voice she breathed a sigh of relief. Waiting patiently to hear that Lorne and Mya had been retrieved, she felt sick when she heard Caldwell's next transmission. 'We've got eleven members of the Atlantis team, but we've not been able to get a lock on Lorne and the girl.'

'What's the problem Colonel?' Elizabeth kept her voice calm and unemotional in spite of how she was really feeling.

'There's some kind of shielding around the section they're in and we can't get through it. Hermiod is trying to modify the transporter, I'll update you as soon as we've got anything. Caldwell out.'

Elizabeth took a few deep breaths before making the decision to go to where Zelenka and his team were working to see first-hand what was going on, hoping this would help her get a handle on the whole situation. As she went, she received an update from Beckett on the status of the people the Daedalus had retrieved.

'They're all fine, thankfully,' Carson's voice reassured her. 'But they haven't had any contact with Major Lorne since the compartment sealed itself off.'

'That's one less thing to worry about,' Elizabeth acknowledged the information, not surprised when Beckett turned the discussion around to herself.

'What are you doing right now?'

'I'm on my way to see Dr Zelenka.' Elizabeth almost knew what was coming next.

'You should get some rest,' Beckett's voice was gentle. 'You'll be no good to anybody if you collapse with exhaustion.'

'I'll rest when this is over,' Elizabeth was firm in her decision, fairly certain that Beckett already knew what she was going to say. 'You know we have to get them out of there as soon as possible.'

'Aye, I know,' Beckett sighed, knowing full well the risk to Lorne and Mya. 'Colonel Sheppard will be waking soon, what should I tell him?'

'The truth. He needs to know and hopefully we'll have good news by the time he does wake up. Weir out.'

Zelenka looked up as he became aware of Elizabeth's presence but continued what he was doing, talking as he worked.

'We are making progress,' he told her, his fingers flying over the keyboard, calling out occasional directions to some of his staff. 'We have disabled the device that creates vacuum.'

'Well that's good news.'

'We think,' Zelenka added, frowning.

'What do you mean, you think?'

'It is hard to know for certain as readings keep fluctuating, but I am fairly confident that cold is now the only problem.'

'And that is a very big problem if we don't get them out of there quickly – do you know how cold it is outside?'

Zelenka stared at her for a moment before responding. 'Very cold I imagine.'

'It's 23, Major Lorne and Mya are most likely severely affected by hypothermia and it's only going to get worse as the sun sets.'

'I am aware of this and we work as fast as we can. I think soon we can find a way to shut off the forcefield so Daedalus can transport them.'

'What kind of timescale are we looking at?'

'Not long, maybe one hour.'

'Very well, keep me posted.' Elizabeth, frustrated at the continuing delays with rescuing the two trapped people, made her way back to the main part of the city, stopping off at the infirmary as she did so, well aware that Dr Beckett would have his hands more than full with Colonel Sheppard once he found out what was happening. Her instincts were correct – she could hear his voice when she was still some distance from the infirmary.

'Why the hell am I only finding out about this now?' Sheppard shouted.

'Because there was nothing you could do about it,' Beckett's voice was sounding strained as he tried to remain patient. 'You were exhausted and needed to rest.' There was a pause, then Beckett spoke again. 'Where do you think you're going?'

'I'm going to find out what's taking so long.'

'Son, I really don't think that's a good idea.'

'You know something, doc,' John's voice was hard and unforgiving. 'I don't care what you think. One of my best men and a child who I am responsible for are in danger of dying of hypothermia and I am not going to sit around and…'

'Colonel.' Elizabeth's voice broke in, stopping John in mid-rant. 'How are you feeling?'

'How am I feeling? How do you think I'm feeling? Everyone's been keeping things from me, how is that supposed to make me feel?'

'Still tired?' Elizabeth asked innocently, taking the wind from his sails as John focussed his thoughts enough to respond.

'No, I'm fine, which is just as well seeing as no-one else seems to be doing anything about getting Lorne and Mya out of that freezer they're stuck in.'

'I see. And you think that the rest of us have been sitting around waiting for you to feel well enough to sort it all out yourself?'

'Well, no, but…'

'John, I know how you feel,' Elizabeth breathed a silent prayer that at least he was behaving more reasonably now. 'It's how we're all feeling, but all we can do is wait until we're needed, and that applies especially to you.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Mya is going to need you when we get her out of there, I know she's allowed some of us to be with her but it's you she's bonded with.' Elizabeth could see John was beginning to look uncomfortable with what she was saying and pressed home her advantage. 'While you were in the infirmary, the only time she really showed any interest was when she knew she was coming to see you and you're the only one she's talked to.'

'But she thinks I'm dead.'

'Yes she does,' Beckett spoke up. 'And the fact that she ran away should show you how important you are to her. We'll sort everything out once they're out of there but in the meantime, you need to rest.'

'But I've been resting. I'd rather…'

'Colonel, as soon as Dr Zelenka's been able to lower the shielding, the Daedalus is going to transport Major Lorne and Mya straight to the infirmary. You're better off staying right where you are.'

John glared at Elizabeth as he realised he had been out-manoeuvred but obediently lay down under the watchful eye of Dr Beckett.

'You're both evil.' John muttered as he closed his eyes, ignoring them as they took their leave.

-------------------

To be continued… 

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


	11. Chapter 11

**Part Eleven**

To his surprise, John actually fell asleep once he was left alone. When he woke, the lights had been dimmed but a glance at his watch revealed he'd only slept for a couple of hours. He could hear two familiar voices talking quietly a short distance away and was about to greet the owners when the subject of their discussion filtered through to him and instead he remained motionless and listened.

'…doesn't seem to be getting anywhere,' Elizabeth was saying, her voice full of frustration, showing the strain she had been under since this all started. 'He's still working on it, but he can't give us any kind of timescale.'

'What about the transporters on the Daedalus?' Beckett asked. 'I thought Hermiod was modifying them.' As he spoke, his voice began to move away and John was only able to catch the beginning of Elizabeth's next sentence before he heard a door closing, shutting off the rest of the discussion.

The day John had spent in enforced idleness had not been entirely wasted however, and on hearing these snippets of information he knew it was time to put the plan he had formulated into action. Ok, there were certainly a few risks involved, but it was getting to the stage where it was time to take those risks and he was going to be the one taking them.

Cracking his eyes open, he checked the infirmary to make sure there wasn't anyone around who would prevent him from leaving, then got out of bed and made his way towards the nearest transporter and headed for Ronon's quarters. The plan he had in mind needed a second person to ensure it's success and he knew Ronon would follow his lead without feeling the need to report his actions to either Beckett or Weir.

'Aren't you supposed to be in the infirmary?' Ronon leant against the door, staring fiercely at John.

'Maybe,' John shrugged. 'I need your help – Zelenka and Caldwell aren't making much progress with getting Lorne and Mya out of that lab, so I've come up with an alternative plan. You in?'

'You're not dressed,' Ronon pointed out, taking a good look at John to check whether he should risk helping him. Figuring that he looked in pretty good shape, Ronon stood to one side to allow John to enter.

'You got something I can wear?' John asked, peering around the untidy room. Clothes looked as though they had been dropped wherever the wearer had removed them and a number of items that could be used as weapons were scattered at various intervals, probably intentionally placed to make sure Ronon was never far from something he could use to defend himself.

'What's wrong with your own clothes?'

'They're in my quarters and that's the first place they'll look when they find I'm gone. So?'

Accepting the explanation, Ronon dug through some piles of clothing and threw a sweater and jacket at him.

'Great,' John nodded as he pulled them on before leading the way to their next destination, ignoring the lack of footwear as he could manage quite easily without shoes.

They arrived in McKay's lab without too much difficulty and found it unoccupied. Hurrying over to one of the laptops, John brought up the schematics of the City that he knew were there, and after confirming what he needed to know brought Ronon over and explained what he was planning and what he needed Ronon to do.

Ronon listened carefully, a frown on his face until John had finished talking.

'It might work,' Ronon finally said, which was the closest he was going to get in showing his approval. 'Now what?'

'Time we got out of here. This way.'

John shut the computer off and led the way to the armoury where he snagged a vest and loaded the pockets with the items he required while Ronon kept watch outside, lounging casually against the wall. John was just about ready when a low cough from Ronon alerted him to the presence of a third party. Remaining silent, John waited while Ronon spoke a few muffled words to whoever was there, and a few minutes later the door opened to reveal Ronon on his own.

'Dr Weir,' he told John briefly. 'Wanted to know if I'd seen you – she said Dr Beckett isn't happy with you.' Ronon grinned before heading back towards the central tower and their ultimate goal.

Moving more carefully now, John made full use of the life signs detector he had collected and breathed a sigh of relief that it was now getting late so there were fewer people around. Even so, they had a few close calls and John only narrowly missed being seen by some of his own men before they reached the safety of the deserted 'jumper bay and selected one of the ships.

------------

'Dr Weir?' Sergeant Read appeared at the door to her office. Elizabeth had been unable to relax and was trying to work, the unread report on her laptop, however, revealed how little work she was actually getting done. 'There's been an unauthorised departure from the 'jumper bay.'

'Do we know who it is?' Elizabeth frowned, not needing another problem on top of everything else.

'No ma'am,' Read shook his head. 'They're not responding to our hails.'

'Very well.' Elizabeth got to her feet wearily and made her way to the control room, gratefully accepting the coffee one of the technicians thoughtfully placed in her hands. 'Weir to 'jumper 2, you are not authorised for this departure, please return immediately.'

'I'm afraid I can't do that.'

Elizabeth closed her eyes briefly as she recognised the all-too familiar voice. 'John? What are you doing?'

'Mounting a rescue operation,' John told her. 'Have the Daedalus and infirmary standing by. Jumper 2 out.'

Remaining motionless for a moment, Elizabeth shook her head in frustration before contacting Beckett and Caldwell to bring them up to speed on events and waited impatiently for John to complete his plans.

--------------

'How do you know we won't injure them?' Ronon, leaning through the open door of the now hovering 'jumper turned back to ask.

'Because Lorne's smart,' John assured him, remaining focussed on keeping the 'jumper in position against the exterior wall of the lab. 'He'll have figured out that the warmest place in there will be as far away from the exterior walls as possible, if we place the C4 right where we are now, we stand the best chance of being furthest away from them and it'll also cause the least amount of structural damage according to the schematics.'

'You sure about this?'

'Positive, just do it already,' John urged him. 'I don't know how much longer I can hold this thing steady.'

Wasting no more time, Ronon planted the blocks of C4 as directed. 'It's done,' he called as soon as he was finished, returning to the seat beside John who promptly took the 'jumper to a safe distance before nodding at Ronon to detonate the explosives.

'John? What the hell was that?' Elizabeth's voice sounded strained with tension as the explosion made itself felt in the control room.

'I've just made an emergency exit for the lab,' John informed her casually as he checked the success of his work before heading back to the 'jumper bay. 'It's ok, it didn't caused any serious structural damage. The Daedalus should be able to transport them now.'

'They've got them in the infirmary,' Elizabeth confirmed, her voice revealing her extreme annoyance with what he had just done. 'Report straight there.'

'Already on my way,' John assured her. He was slightly out of breath as he arrived, having raced down several flights of stairs the moment he landed in the 'jumper bay. He cautiously entered the infirmary where he stood just inside the doorway to watch the flurry of activity surrounding the partially covered bundle that had appeared in the middle of the floor which revealed itself to be Major Lorne, his head and shoulders sticking out from underneath a dust-sheet, his eyes open but staring unseeingly in front of him.

Immediately the medical staff set about their appointed tasks, carefully removing the layers of cloth to reveal a well-wrapped little girl held securely by Major Lorne.

'Major, you have to let go of her,' Dr Beckett spoke firmly to Lorne who was extremely reluctant to release his grip on Mya. 'You're in the infirmary and I need to make sure she's alright. Let her go.'

For the first time Lorne's eyes registered some level of understanding as they fell on Beckett and at last he loosened his arms enough to allow some of the nurses to take Mya.

'His temperature's 94,' one of the nurse's advised Beckett as she checked the reading on the thermometer. 'His breathing is slow and his skin pale and cold.' Lorne was rapidly transferred to one of the waiting beds where he was surrounded by medics intent on restoring his body temperature to normal as quickly and safely as they could.

Beckett, overseeing both patients at the same time, turned as he heard one of the nurses trying to convince Mya to allow herself to be examined.

'It's alright, I'll see to it,' Beckett waved the nurses away and was relieved but not surprised when he found her temperature to be only slightly below normal 'You're going to be fine,' Beckett smiled at Mya, but she refused to look at him although she allowed herself to be examined by someone she trusted. 'It looks like Major Lorne took pretty good care of you.'

Beckett looked up as a movement at the door caught his attention and he saw Elizabeth enter, stopping to say something to Colonel Sheppard before she headed over to them. Mya had noticed Beckett's momentary distraction and her own eyes fell on Sheppard.

With a gasp of shock, Mya slid down from the bed where she had been sitting and took a couple of faltering steps towards John before looking back at Beckett for confirmation of what she was seeing.

'Mya, there was a misunderstanding earlier,' Beckett hurried forward. 'When Rodney told you Colonel Sheppard had gone, he only meant gone from the infirmary – to return to his own quarters. As you can see, he is very much alive.' Mya stared at Beckett as though having difficulty understanding him, then raced towards John.

John watched as Mya stopped abruptly in front of him, reaching out a hand to touch him, gingerly at first and then harder, prodding him in the stomach and arm to make sure he was real.

'It really is me,' John assured her, waiting for her to make the next move.

'Mama? Papa?' She looked up at him, her face clearly revealing what she hoped to hear.

Glancing first at Beckett who nodded to him to go ahead and tell her, John knelt down in front of Mya. 'I'm sorry, we sent some people to see if anyone had survived but…'

Mya stared at him, her lower lip quivering and her eyes filling with tears as she began to understand for the first time what had happened to her parents. Holding her arms out in front of her as a younger child would, Mya waited until John picked her up then wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.

'What do I do now?' John appealed to Beckett.

'She has a slightly low body temperature, but give her a warm drink and something to eat if she's hungry, make sure she's well wrapped up and she'll be fine physically. There isn't anything we can do for her here, she'll be better off in a quieter environment.'

'What – you mean take her back to my quarters?'

'Yes, I believe that's what I was saying.'

'What about some of the guest quarters, wouldn't that be more suitable?'

'She needs to be with someone she trusts, and right now that would be you,' Beckett told him bluntly as he saw Mya's shoulders shaking with silent sobs. 'I suggest you get going.'

John absently rubbed Mya's back, looking as though he would rather face up to the occupants of an entire hive-ship than deal with one distraught child, then turned around and headed towards his quarters with the greatest possible speed.

'Are you sure he's the right person for this?' Elizabeth asked Beckett after John's departure.

'He'll be fine,' Beckett assured her. 'I've seen him with her in the infirmary and he's a natural, whether he's willing to admit it or not. I'll check on them both as soon as we've got Major Lorne stabilised.' He glanced over to the other side of the room where the medics were still working on Lorne.

'How is he?'

'He didn't get off so lightly,' Beckett told her. 'He's hypothermic, but once we get his body temperature back to normal he should make a full recovery within a few days. From what I could see, he spent so much time making sure Mya was wrapped up against the cold, by the time he got round to seeing to himself he was too tired and confused to cover himself up properly.'

'I see, well, you'd better get back to your patient.' Elizabeth nodded at him and by the time she was out of the door, Beckett was already with Lorne.

------------

Keeping his head down and walking as fast as he could, John made it back to his quarters in record time, relieved when the door slid closed behind him shutting off the curious gazes of the personnel he had raced past.

Grabbing a blanket from the bed, he sat down on the couch and wrapped Mya up before settling her on his lap as comfortably as he could without putting pressure on the still healing wound in his side. Sensing that they had stopped moving, Mya looked up at John, her face tear-streaked and full of sorrow.

'I want mama and papa,' she sobbed, burying her face again in John's shoulder.

'I know you do,' John hugged the little girl, almost feeling the pain she was going through. 'And I know it really hurts right now.'

'It hurts here,' Mya patted her chest.

'I bet it feels like there's a lump in there instead of your heart, doesn't it?' Mya nodded solemnly. 'And it feels like you're about to break up into a million pieces and that you could never be happy again?' She nodded again, sobbing harder than ever as John described exactly how she was feeling. 'I lost my parents when I was a few years older than you are now,' John explained. 'And I know it hurt like hell and I felt that the world was ending. You know what got me through it all?'

Curious, Mya looked up at him, tears easing for a moment as she waited expectantly for him to continue.

'Having people around who understood what I was going through and were there for me when I needed them – if it weren't for that, I don't know what I would have done.' John paused so Mya had chance to take in some of what he was saying. 'You know, you're not on your own. There are people here who will help you, and I'm here for you too. Remember that, and in time things won't seem quite so bad.'

Clinging tightly to John, Mya began to cry again, but this time it wasn't the bitter tears of despair and loneliness, they were tears mourning the loss of her parents and her people, tears that would in time help ease her pain. John held her close, rocking her gently and allowing her to cry.

----------------

To be continued… 

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


	12. Chapter 12

Part Twelve 

John had no idea how long it was before the tears finally eased and Mya loosened her grip and began to wriggle. Shaking his head to clear it, he glanced down at her face, streaked with drying tears. 'What is it?' He asked.

'Hungry,' she whispered.

Recalling Dr Beckett's advice before they left the infirmary, John grabbed his headset and made a couple of requests. A knock on the door a few minutes later had Mya jumping to her feet and crouching on the far side of the couch. Surprised at how quickly the supplies had arrived, John went to the door, turning on the lights as he did so and found Beckett in front of him.

'Doctor,' John greeted him, standing to one side to let him enter.

Mya was peering around the end of the couch to check if it was safe to show herself. Beckett, seeing the top of her head, held something in front of him and immediately Mya came out and raced towards him, snatching the object out of his hand.'

'Liz'beth!' She greeted the bear joyfully, not realising it was missing until now.

'Where did that come from?' John asked as he returned to the couch where Mya climbed back onto his lap.

'It was with the bundle of clothing Major Lorne was wrapped up in, one of the nurses spotted it and thought it's owner would like it back,' Beckett smiled at Mya who was now cuddling the bear, burying her face in it's fur.

'How is Lorne?'

'He's going to be fine. We've managed to bring his temperature back to normal but he'll need to remain under observation for a day or two just to make sure there aren't any complications.' Beckett returned his attention to Mya. 'I need to take a wee look at you, if that's alright.' He set about checking her temperature, blood pressure and pulse, all of which appeared to satisfy him. 'Well, your temperature is a little high but it's nothing to worry about. Apart from that, everything is normal. How are you doing?'

Mya looked at him solemnly, the sadness returning to her eyes. 'I miss mama and papa,' she told him gravely, tears threatening to begin again.

John and Beckett exchanged surprised looks as this was the first time Mya had spoken to anyone other than John. 'I know you do, love, but we're all here for you, just you remember that.' Beckett ruffled her hair gently. 'Colonel, I need to check your dressing.'

'That's really not necessary,' John tried to protest.

'Yes, it is,' Beckett spoke insistently.

'C'mon doc, can't I just stop by the infirmary tomorrow instead?'

'We're not going to argue about this are we?'

'Actually, I think we are. The wound's healing, it doesn't need you poking and prodding it.' Sheppard grimaced at the doctor then remembered Mya who was staring up at him, her eyes and mouth wide open in astonishment at the way he was behaving. 'On the other hand, perhaps it would just be better to get this over with,' he finally conceded.

As Mya moved away from John, Beckett caught her attention and winked, making her giggle.

'What was that?' John asked suspiciously, glaring at Beckett.

'Oh, nothing,' Carson said airily, proceeding to remove the dressing on John's side before covering it over with a fresh one. 'That's coming along very nicely. We should be able to remove the dressing completely in a few days. Now, I suggest you both have something to eat then get some rest. Give me a call if there are any problems, otherwise, stop by the infirmary in the morning. Good night.'

Just as Beckett was leaving, he stood to one side to make way for the arrival of two men, closely followed by someone from the kitchen. The first two had brought the extra bedding John had requested, the third was carrying a tray with warm milk, tea and sandwiches. Nodding his approval at the contents of the tray, Beckett left to return to the infirmary.

Meanwhile, John had the men put the bedding and cot on the floor beside the bed and the tray of food on the low table beside the couch before dismissing them all with a word of thanks.

'Come and get it,' John smiled at Mya who had been wandering around his room looking at his possessions, making herself as small as possible to avoid being noticed by the men who had just left. As she sat back down, John handed her the warm milk and a couple of sandwiches before helping himself. He pulled a face at the tea, preferring coffee as a rule, and suspected that Beckett had already spoken to the kitchen to advise on what they should be sending him.

Shrugging, he went ahead and drank the tea and ate a couple of sandwiches hungrily having forgotten how long it had been since he last had anything to eat. At the same time, he kept an eye on Mya, watching as she readily drank the milk but only took a couple of bites of sandwich. He managed to persuade to finish half her sandwich, but gave up on pushing any further, turning instead to the sleeping arrangements.

'Ok, let's get this blanket back on the bed,' he spoke half to himself, half to Mya who was watching him. 'You're going to sleep much better if you get changed into something more comfortable. How about this?' He'd been rummaging through his drawers to see what he could find, producing a t-shirt that would serve as a night-shirt for her and ushered her into the bathroom to get changed.

Sighing, he spread the blankets out on the cot until he had a half-reasonable bed made up. A few moments later Mya returned, the t-shirt hanging very loosely around her small frame and she climbed into the bed.

'It's time you got some sleep,' John smiled at Mya as she sat up in bed, teddy bear tucked in beside her. 'Good night.'

He turned to settle himself on the cot when he realised Mya was sitting exactly where he had left her.

'Something wrong?' He asked.

'Story?' Mya asked hopefully, glancing away shyly at the boldness of her request.

'Ah,' John nodded. 'So you liked the other story I told you?' Mya nodded and shifted to make room so he could sit beside her. Taking his time to make himself as comfortable as possible, he racked his brains for a suitable story, eventually dredging up the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. 'Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a village near the forest. Whenever, she went out, the little girl wore a red riding cloak, so everyone in the village called her Little Red Riding Hood.' As the story began, Mya settled down joyfully to listen.

John became so caught up in the story that he didn't notice for some time that Mya had fallen asleep before he had chance to finish. Tucking her in gently so as not to wake her, he returned to the couch and rolled himself up in one of the blankets, falling asleep himself almost immediately.

He had only been asleep for a short time when he sensed something was wrong. Normally he would wake in an instant, rarely sleeping so heavily that it was hard to rouse himself, but the stresses of this particular day combined with the fact that he was still recovering from an injury meant it took him a few minutes to figure out what was going on and why he wasn't sleeping in his bed. The moment he realised what it was that had woken him, instinct took over and before he knew what was happening, he was at Mya's side, holding her until she had calmed down enough to tell him what was wrong.

'It was mama and papa, and all the others,' Mya whispered to him as she clung desperately to him for reassurance. 'I could hear them. Mama told papa to hide me and then they took her to be with the others. Papa tried to do what she said but they followed us and then he was gone but you were there.'

'And you've been dreaming about it,' John pulled a face as he tried to figure out the best way of helping her. 'Teyla tells me your father was a healer.'

'He was very good,' Mya told him. 'Once my friend hurt herself really badly when she fell out of a tree but he helped her get better. He used to let me help him - we'd go to the forest to collect herbs and berries and he'd tell me what they could be used for. I wanted to be just like him.'

'What was your mum like?' John breathed a sigh of relief that he'd managed to hit on something that seemed to be working.

'She was really pretty,' Mya's voice became dreamy as she began to remember. 'She had wavy brown hair and she was always smiling. All my friends liked her and she would make up games for us to play. It was mama who found the play-house for us. She used to tell me stories at bedtime.'

'What kind of stories?'

'Well, they were like the ones Marcus told me earlier. He told me about a really slow animal with a shell and another animal that hopped really fast and they had a race and the fast animal was so far ahead he stopped to go to sleep and the one with the shell just kept going and won the race. I liked it, it reminded me of mama.'

'And thinking of her is a good thing,' John told her. 'How about I finish the story I started earlier?' Mya nodded eagerly, waiting impatiently as John leaned back against the wall and put his feet up before asking where he'd got to before.

'The little girl was picking flowers in the woods,' Mya prompted him, wriggling to make herself more comfortable, using John's chest as a pillow.

'Right,' John glanced down to make sure Mya was settled before continuing. 'Little Red Riding Hood had picked a whole armful of flowers before she noticed that a wolf had arrived. The wolf used his politest voice to talk to Little Red Riding Hood.' John carried on with the story and got to the end this time before Mya smiled contentedly, yawned and fell fast asleep. John stayed where he was for a few minutes, wanting to make sure she was properly asleep before he moved her, but when he tried to untangle himself she began to whimper and he resigned himself to remaining there a little while longer.

He was still there and fast asleep when a polite cough woke him the following morning. He opened his eyes, blinked a few times to bring the room into focus and saw Dr Beckett standing just inside the room, his mouth twitching in amusement.

'Something funny?' John asked, trying to maintain an icy stare but betrayed by the dryness in his throat that made his voice croaky.

'Well, the two of you just make such a sweet picture, makes me wish I had my camera,' Beckett told him unrepentantly before changing the subject. 'Just thought I'd stop by to see how you're both faring this morning.'

'What time is it?'

'Nearly lunchtime,' Beckett replied. 'When you didn't turn up in the infirmary I thought I'd better stop off to make sure everything was alright.'

John rolled his neck to loosen up some of the stiffness from having slept in an awkward position before extracting himself from the still sleeping Mya. 'She had some nightmares, but we talked through it all and then she eventually fell asleep. I think she's going to be alright.' John glanced down at the bed, then bent over Mya as he noticed that something wasn't right.

'Doc!' Sheppard called out sharply bringing Beckett to his side in an instant. 'What's wrong?' John asked anxiously as he hovered at Beckett's shoulder, barely leaving him enough room for his examination.

'I'm not entirely sure, but I suspect it's a respiratory infection of some kind,' Beckett told him as he checked Mya's temperature and listened to her chest. 'Children often develop fevers with minor infections but I'd like to move her to the infirmary where I can keep an eye on her. There is a danger that she's picked something up that her immune system may not be able to handle.'

Nodding acceptance of Beckett's verdict, John scooped Mya up from the bed and headed for the infirmary, ignoring the discomfort he could feel in his side.

'Why don't you let me...'

'No,' John interrupted Beckett's offer of assistance. 'I'm good.'

Shrugging his acceptance of the Colonel's protectiveness of the child, Beckett made a mental note to give Sheppard a full check-up at the first opportunity, although he suspected that on this occasion he wouldn't have much difficulty keeping him in the infirmary.

As soon as they arrived in the infirmary, Beckett led the way into one of the smaller rooms where John put Mya on to a bed while Beckett busied himself with gathering the tools of his trade to enable him to carry out a more thorough examination.

Mya woke as Beckett returned, looking confused at finding herself in a different place from where she went to sleep.

'It's alright,' John hurriedly assured her. 'We're in the infirmary.'

'Feel sick,' Mya mumbled as her face turned slightly green and Beckett was only just in time to thrust a bowl in front of her to catch the contents of her stomach as she was violently sick. By the time she had finished, she was crying and looked really small and vulnerable. John sat beside her and gathered her into a hug and succeeded in calming her down by the time Beckett returned a few minutes later.

When John tried to move away to allow Beckett to take a look at her, Mya clung to him desperately, refusing to let him go. Looking helplessly at Beckett, John seated himself more securely on the bed and lifted Mya onto his lap where Becket could carry out his examination.

'Well, what is it?' John asked impatiently as soon as Beckett had finished, gently rocking Mya. 'Is she going to be alright?'

'It looks like tonsillitis,' Carson told him.

'Doesn't that mean an operation? Will she be alright?'

'The tonsils aren't normally removed these days unless there are complications. She should start to feel better in a day or two but I'd like to keep her here until the symptoms start to improve so she can be monitored.'

'Ok,' John readily accepted Beckett's authority on the situation.

'I think she's fallen asleep,' Carson nodded at Mya. 'Here, let me.' He picked up the sleeping child to allow John to stand before tucking her back into bed.

'How come all the chairs in here are so damn' uncomfortable,' John complained as he brought something to sit on.

One of the nurses had come in shortly after Beckett had left to fetch some medication, changing Mya into fresh scrubs and sponging down her hands and face to freshen her up a little, but Mya had slept through it all. A short time after the nurse left, Mya woke again.

'John!' She croaked from a very sore throat, giving him a weak smile.  
John gave her some water to sip to ease her throat a little. 'How are you feeling?'

'Throat hurts,' Mya told him, finding it easier to whisper. 'Everywhere hurts.'

'I know, Dr Beckett will be back in a minute to give you something to make you feel a little better.' John told her. 'He says you've got something called tonsillitis - your throat becomes painful when it tries to fight an infection. That's what's making you feel so sore. He says you should start to feel better in a couple of days.'

Mya nodded her understanding of this information, being the daughter of a healer making her more familiar with illness than most children would be. 'Will you stay with me?' She whispered, the fear that she would be left alone showing in her eyes.

'Course I will. Doc says I need to take things easy for a while until my side heals,' John told her. 'I may as well do that here as anywhere else.'

Looking a little happier now, Mya closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep again just as Beckett returned.

'She was awake just now,' John informed Beckett, watching as he administered the medication. 'She's feeling pretty sorry for herself, but I think she understands what's wrong. She asked me to stick around, though I really can't understand why.' He pulled a face.

'Hold on.' Beckett disappeared, returning a few minutes later with a piece of paper that he passed to a confused John. 'This might shed some light on it.'

John studied the picture, his quick mind picking up on the significance of the two figures although not understanding about the stars.

'Mya was bringing this to you yesterday but dropped it when she ran off,' Carson explained.

'Ok, so...' John left the sentence unfinished, waiting for Beckett to fill in the gaps.

'We - Dr Weir and myself, that is - think the stars represent the people in Mya's village, the two largest are her parents, looking down to make sure she's being taken care of, and you're the one that Mya's expecting to fill that role because her father handed her into your care.' Carson looked at John's face, trying to determine what he made of this.

John sighed, scrubbing his hands over his face tiredly, but nodding his understanding of what Beckett had said. 'Teyla said something similar,' he admitted. 'I thought maybe it was just her interpretation of events but now...'

'Now you feel responsible for her, and not just because you feel it's your duty,' Carson filled in the blanks. 'There's a bond between the two of you.'

'C'mon, doc,' John tried to protest, looking extremely uncomfortable as Beckett began to touch on the truth.

'When you were alone back there on the planet, you took responsibility for each other - you got her to safety and she looked after you when you were sick. You're reacting on instinct, looking out for her as a parent would. It's there in most of us, son, and it's probable that in the same circumstances any one of us would be feeling the same as you are now.'

'So what happens now?' John cleared his throat awkwardly.

'I really don't know,' Carson admitted. 'You'll just have to deal with each situation as it arises. Now,' Carson moved towards the door, 'you need to get some rest. I'll have another bed made up for you - you might as well be as comfortable as possible.'

'You're a good man, doc.'

Beckett grinned at the unaccustomed praise - no-one ever seemed to thank him when they were the patient, although he was aware his services were highly valued by the crew of Atlantis - then left the two of them alone.

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To be continued...

The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author


	13. Chapter 13

Part thirteen 

'Gerroff,' John growled as he felt someone trying to wake him, opening one eye to find Teyla standing over him. Beckett had been as good as his word in having the bed made up for him, and though he wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, he had been very tired and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

'It is nice to see you too,' Teyla smiled at him, amused at the way he slept so heavily when on Atlantis but off-world he was like a coiled spring, ready to jump into action at a moment's notice. 'I returned a short time ago, Dr Weir and Dr Beckett have informed me of what happened while I was absent. How is she?'

John sat up, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes as he glanced at the still sleeping figure in the next bed. 'Doctor Beckett says it's tonsillitis. It's something that a lot of kids catch back on Earth, it's like a bad throat infection. He thinks she'll start to feel better in a couple of days.'

'Yes, he informed me of this,' Teyla acknowledged, then glanced away. 'I am sorry I was not here yesterday. Perhaps I should have cancelled my trip after all,' she looked back at him uncertainly.

'Don't be silly, it all worked out alright in the end. Anyway, how did it go?'

'It went very well. It is the first time we have been able to have the Festival for several years, everyone felt safer now than they have in a long time, somehow being under the watchful eye of Atlantis is helping put people at their ease.' Teyla's keen eyes had been watching John carefully, noting the shadows under his eyes and that when he moved he did so carefully. 'And how are you? You do not appear to be recovering very quickly.'

'I'm fine,' John told her airily, brushing his state of health off with a boyish grin, not fooling Teyla for a minute, and knowing she didn't believe him. 'Mya and I had a chat last night. I think she's feeling a little better about things now.'

'I said you would be able to help her,' Teyla smiled at him, then turned her attention to Mya who had been woken by the sound of talking. 'How are you feeling?'

'I ache,' Mya told her. 'It hurts everywhere.'

'I know, and it is making you feel miserable?' Teyla smoothed Mya's hair out her eyes. Mya nodded before falling silent again. 'Would you like me to sit with you for a while? John needs to get something to eat, then he will come back again.' Teyla glanced up at John who was glaring at her, knowing she had backed him into a corner.

'I'll be back soon,' John told Mya, squeezing her hand as he stood up and left the room, scowling as he bumped into Beckett. 'You put her up to that didn't you?'

'I don't know what you're talking about, son,' Beckett's eyes twinkled. 'But now you're here, why don't I give you that overdue check-up?'

John considered making a run, or rather a hobble, for it but figured that whatever happened, he had to return to the infirmary before too long so he should probably get this over with now. 'Alright, where do you want me?'

Beckett led the way to one of the beds and proceeded to remove the old dressing, tutting as he did so.

'What?'

'You've been overdoing it, I'm afraid,' Beckett held up the dressing with fresh spots of blood on it. 'The wound has opened up in a few places. I'm going to clean it and strap you up again, and unless you want me to confine you to one of the infirmary beds, you'll take it easy for the next few days. While Mya's still feeling poorly, she should sleep for most of the day. When she's asleep, I want you resting on the bed. If you do that, you should begin to heal nicely and I can release you for light duties, if you don't, you'll be stopping here for the next week. Is that understood?' Beckett's tone was firm and allowed no room for argument.

'Couldn't I just…'

'No.'

'You didn't wait for me to finish,' John protested.

'I know. Now, go and get yourself something to eat. I don't want you back here for at least an hour, so you can get some fresh air while you're about it.'

'You drive a real hard bargain doc, you know that?'

-------------

After obeying Beckett's orders, he had to admit to himself that he did feel better after eating and spending some time on one of the balconies. The sun had been shining and he had enjoyed the warmth on his skin, closing his eyes and breathing in the fresh air. He didn't stay there too long however, grimacing as he felt the pull to return to the infirmary, realising that however much he may fight against what Beckett had told him, he just couldn't stay away from the little girl who needed him so much.

He did make a short detour via the general ward, however, to see how Rodney and Lorne were getting on. Lorne was sleeping, though Beckett informed him he would be right as rain in a day or two having got off quite lightly after his experiences trapped in the ice-cold lab. Rodney was complaining loudly to everyone that came near him but when he saw John, he looked away from him uncomfortably.

'Hi. How are you? And how's um…' Rodney stumbled over his words with uncharacteristic awkwardness.

'I'm fine – well more or less, anyway,' John told him, assessing Rodney's discomfort and understanding the cause. 'Mya will be fine too. She has tonsillitis but she should be better in a few days. Looks like you're getting out of here soon.'

'Yes, Carson says the dressing needs to be changed before I leave.' Rodney fell silent for a moment and John waited, knowing he would blurt out what was on his mind sooner or later. 'Look, I'm sorry about what happened. It was all my fault, I never meant for any of it to happen.' Rodney spoke the words rapidly, relieved to have finally got them out.

'It wasn't your fault,' John told him firmly. 'You had a fever and had no idea what was going on. No-one's blaming you.'

'Well, yes, but…'

'Why don't you stop by and say hello when Beckett lets you get out of here,' John suggested, figuring the only way Rodney would stop blaming himself was to see that Mya really was alright.

'Ok, I might do that.'

'Good. Well, duty calls and all that. See you later.'

-------------

John spent the next couple of days in the infirmary, sleeping a lot and only leaving to get something to eat when Dr Beckett threatened to use him in one of his experiments if he didn't get some food. Three days after Mya came down with tonsillitis she was beginning to feel better, spending most of her waking time drawing and listening to stories, John feeling almost back to normal himself with the wound in his side healing once it had been given a chance to.

On one of John's visits to the mess hall, Dr Weir caught up with him.

'We need to talk,' she told him, her face serious.

John sighed and followed her back to her office, knowing she hadn't forgotten the incident with the 'jumper.

'Look, I know what you're going to say,' John began before Elizabeth could speak. 'And I'm only going to apologise for not letting you know what I was doing beforehand.'

'I'm glad you realise that the way you went about it was wrong,' Elizabeth told him, trying to keep her face and voice stern, but unable to stop herself from sympathising with the way John must have felt. 'And if you had included us in your plans, it would have prevented a lot of unnecessary damage control – Dr Zelenka has just spent the last few days restoring the systems to full operating order.'

'I'm sorry, I just did what I had to,' John told her. 'I guess I wasn't thinking very straight at the time, but time seemed to be running out very fast and I had to do something.'

'I understand that, John' Elizabeth assured him. 'But next time you feel like putting one of your hare-brained schemes into action, please consult with me first.'

'Sure,' John promised, pausing before he continued, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. 'Next time one of our enemies tries to take over Atlantis I'll be sure to check in with you before I do anything.'

'You know what I mean,' Elizabeth tried to sound stern but couldn't stop her mouth from twitching in amusement. 'Now, isn't there somewhere you're supposed to be?' John took the hint and headed back to the infirmary as quickly as his feet would carry him.

------------

Although she was feeling much better, Mya was inclined to be tearful when left on her own, alarming John when he returned from a brief check-up of his own.

'What's wrong?' John demanded from Beckett who he had summoned when he found Mya in floods of tears. 'Is she ill again?'

'No, she's recovering nicely,' Carson assured John. 'She's just feeling weak and vulnerable right now, it's a perfectly normal part of recovery in a lot of children. It's nothing to worry about, but until she's fully recovered, she may fret if you're not around.'

'Aren't I supposed to be returning to work tomorrow?' John asked doubtfully, part of him torn between leaving Mya while she was still recovering and part of him wanting to get back to normal as quickly as possible.

'Light duties only, Colonel, if you care to remember,' Carson reminded John. 'Which means paperwork and catching up on what's been going on while you've been in here. Mya doesn't need to remain in the infirmary any longer so you can do your work and keep an eye on her at the same time.' Beckett knew John would readily accept the suggestion, and felt some relief at knowing that for once he wouldn't be forced to monitor the Colonel's activities over the next few days.

'Is Elizabeth…'

'Yes, I've already discussed it with her,' Carson answered the question before John could finish asking it. 'And she's fine with it. You just need to remember to see that she eats and drinks, doesn't overtire herself and that she'll probably need several naps during the day.'

'I think I can manage that,' John told him, turning back to Mya who was now busy with paper and crayons. 'Think I'll tell her the good news.'

'Aye, you do that,' Carson spoke quietly, smiling to himself as he returned to his duties.

------------

John wasted no time in getting on with some work the next day, only prevented from starting as early as he'd like by Mya who didn't wake until mid-morning, and by the time they'd had something to eat the morning was nearly gone.

Mya was happily settled down with crayons and papers and John sighed as he took a look at the contents of his in-tray, unable to believe that even in the age of laptops there was such a huge amount of paperwork still. Sifting through the files to put everything into some kind of order, he was at last ready to start reading and managed to work his way through most of the status reports from the military personnel before glancing over at Mya who was beginning to look tired.

'What have you got there?' John crouched down beside her to see what she was drawing. He'd put everything for her on the small table in his office, but Mya had promptly picked up what she wanted and settled herself down on the floor and John had just shrugged, accepting that she was just more comfortable where she was. 'I think I can guess who this is for,' John smiled as he looked at the picture of Mya standing beside her teddy, which she had drawn almost twice as tall as herself.

'Liz'beth,' Mya confirmed for him then stood up. 'Hungry?'

'I was just about to say it's time for lunch – you must have read my mind. Let's go and find out what they've got for us today.'

They returned to John's quarters right after lunch to give Mya chance to lie down and get some rest, leaving John to work his way through his e-mails. He hadn't got very far when he heard a scratching at the door. Wondering if Atlantis might have a rodent problem, he opened the door cautiously but could see nothing out of the ordinary until he glanced down and saw a box placed to one side.

He brought it inside and opened it up, stifling a shout of laughter as he saw the contents. Someone, or more than likely a number of someones, had been very busy and had produced two games for Mya to play. The first was an old-fashioned board game, one of the classics but with a slightly unusual theme. The other was a card game and as he shuffled through the cards, found it harder and harder not to laugh out loud.

Controlling himself at last, he returned to his work and managed to read most of his e-mails before Mya woke.

'Want to play a new game?' John asked as she sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily and nodding, more than happy to be spending time with John. 'Great. This is called snakes and ladders. At least, it's normally called snakes and ladders,' John considered the game he was setting up thoughtfully before his face brightened and he spoke again. 'But as this is a little different from usual, I think we should call it snakes and Stargates.'

'Are those what your snakes look like?' Mya pointed curiously at the board. 'I've seen snakes and they're long and thin, not like that.'

'Oh, these are a particularly vicious type of snake,' John explained as he pulled a small working model of a Stargate out of the box. The game board itself was made up of the usual squares you'd find on most snakes and ladders boards, but instead of ladders, there were small pictures of stargates on some of the squares and instead of regular snakes, some bright spark had come up with the idea of using pictures of goa'uld symbiotes.

'Ok, we each take one of these to mark our positions,' John gave a counter to Mya and took one for himself. 'We take turns to roll the dice,' he held up it up to show her, 'and move our counters along the number of squares the dice lands on. If you land on the head of a snake, you have to go all the way back to where its tail is. If you land on a Stargate, you have to spin the little 'gate and move forward the number of squares that it stops on. First one to reach Atlantis wins.' The final twist of the game was a tiny picture of Atlantis on the home square. 'Do you want to give it a go?'

The game began, Mya taking the first turn. As the game progressed, Mya needed a few reminders from John about the rules of the game, her face lighting up the first time she landed on a Stargate and got to spin the model version that took her right into the lead with a number fifteen. John's next turn took him to the head of one of the 'snakes' and he ended up returning almost to the beginning. Mya's pleasure at being in the lead was short lived however, as at her next turn she too landed on a snake and lost most of the ground she had made up.

It was a long game. Just as it seemed one of them was about to win, they'd land on the very last snake and had to slither back down the board again. Mya was in the lead when she threw a four, the exact number she needed to land on Atlantis and she joyfully marched her counter to the last square, grinning at John.

'Enjoyed yourself?' John asked, a grin on his own face, knowing the answer before she spoke.

'I like this game,' Mya answered. 'Can we play again?'

Before John could answer, a knock at the door distracted them both and while John went to see who it was, Mya looked on anxiously, still retaining her nervousness around strangers.

'Major, good to see you up and about again,' John ushered Major Lorne into the room, waving him to the couch. 'Doc finally had enough of you then?'

'Yes, sir,' Lorne smiled a greeting at Mya, who relaxed considerably at seeing a familiar face and began to rummage through the pictures she had drawn. 'Interesting game you've got there.' His eyes had fallen on the board game still lying where they had left it.

'Isn't it? Makes me think that some of our people have way too much time on their hands,' John said. 'How are you doing?'

'I'm fine,' Lorne assured John. 'Doc's given me the all clear. Is Mya recovered, then?'

'More or less,' John glanced over to make sure she was happily occupied. 'She still needs plenty of rest though. Dr Beckett's restricting me to light duties for a few days, so you'll be responsible for most of the teams during that time. I've been reviewing the mission reports for the last few days and I think the newly arrived personnel are ready for some off-world training. You should…'

John's voice trailed off as he watched Mya pat Lorne's leg to get his attention, offering him a picture when he looked at her.

'Thank you,' Lorne took the picture, studying it for a few moments before a grin formed on his face and he showed the picture to John. Mya had drawn what she thought a tortoise and hare should look like from the description Lorne had given her when he had told her the story. Before either of the men could say anything, Mya climbed on to the couch beside Lorne, knelt beside him and wrapped her arms around his neck before giving him a big kiss and a hug.

'Thank you for looking after me,' Mya whispered shyly then got back down and ran over to John, hiding her face in his chest, overcome at her own unexpected boldness.

John rubbed Mya's back to calm her down, watching with some amusement as Lorne cleared his throat, his face a nice shade of red.

'What made her pick that to draw for you?' John took pity on Lorne, who breathed a sigh of relief as he responded to the question.

'When we were trapped in the lab I told her a couple of Aesop's fables, she seemed to like them.'

'Tell me about it,' John nodded his understanding. 'She loves to hear stories, can't seem to get enough of them.'

'I think it's the age, sir. When my sister's children were about that age they liked nothing more than to sit and listen to stories.'

'I think I'll have to do some reading then, I'm running out of stories to tell her,' John rolled his eyes.

'She seems more settled now,' Lorne observed. 'I was really surprised when she spoke just now.'

'We've had a little chat about…things,' John didn't need to specify what he was talking about. 'It seemed to help. Better now?' John spoke to Mya as she stood up and went over to the table where they had been playing before.

'Play?' She looked hopefully at the two men. Lorne raised an eyebrow questioningly at John who shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, but failing, as Lorne observed the smile John tried to hide. Five minutes later, the three of them were engrossed in the game.

---------------

'Unscheduled incoming wormhole,' Sergeant Miles announced, bringing Elizabeth to the control room. 'It's Lt Mayhew, ma'am.'

'Lieutenant? Any more new cases?' Mayhew's team, along with Dr Machin, had been on the planet for almost a week. The disease that they had initially thought might be measles, had been identified as something very similar, and equally as virulent and dangerous. The villagers who hadn't already contracted the illness were given a hastily prepared vaccination that had prevented most of them from developing anything other than a mild case. It hadn't proved to be a hundred percent effective and several people had still become very ill.

'No, it looks as though we've got it beaten,' Mayhew sounded very tired, as most of the team probably were. They had been working almost non-stop since they had arrived and would need an extensive period of down time once the situation was resolved. 'I don't think we're going to lose any more either.' Eight elderly villagers had unfortunately not survived the outbreak. 'We should be able to start sending our people back to Atlantis within the next twenty-four hours.'

'That's very welcome news,' Elizabeth smiled, relieved that everything was working out better than expected. 'Do you need any more supplies?'

'No, we have sufficient and now many of the patients are fully recovered, they are able to manage for themselves pretty well. There is something else though,' Mayhew paused before he continued. 'A visitor arrived at the village several days ago. She returned to her home-world just before she came here but everyone was dead, killed by raiders, so she came to the only other place her people had visited and traded with. When she found out we were from Atlantis, she informed me that she knew Teyla from previous visits to her village.'

'You don't think…'

'I'm not sure, but it is possible,' Mayhew didn't wait for Elizabeth to finish. 'Perhaps if Teyla could join us?'

'Very well, I'll make the arrangements,' Elizabeth nodded, although she knew she couldn't be seen. 'Atlantis out.'

-------------

To be continued… 

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


	14. Chapter 14

_Sorry it's been so long since I updated, hope it was worth the wait!_

**Part fourteen**

The game of Snakes and Stargates had finished, Major Lorne had left and Mya was spinning the miniature 'gate and moving her counter along the board while John finished typing a couple of e-mails. Just as he was about done, there was a knock on the door and he went to see who it was, standing back to give Rodney room to enter, limping along with the aid of his crutches.

'Shouldn't you have got the hang of those by now?' John asked curiously, observing how awkwardly Rodney moved.

'It's not as easy as it looks you know,' Rodney huffed, lowering himself on to a chair.

'I thought you were going to stop by and visit while Mya was in the infirmary?' John challenged, suspecting that Rodney was still feeling guilty over what had happened to her.

'Well, you know, busy busy. Had to make sure Zelenka hadn't blown anything up – leave him too long on his own and who knows what disasters I might have had to clean up.' He avoided looking at John and barely glanced at Mya at first, then did a double-take as he saw what she was playing with. 'That is so sick!'

Mya, realising that the two men were looking in her direction, glanced up and smiled. 'Hello Roddy. Play Snakes and Stargates?' She asked hopefully, picking up the board and pieces of the game to bring them over to Rodney.

'You let her play this?' Rodney's voice was incredulous as he studied the game closer, before grabbing the mini Stargate and studying it closely. 'This is pretty good. Who made it?'

'I have no idea – someone left a couple of games in a box outside earlier, and yes, Mya likes the game and I've been playing with her.' John's voice was a little cold at Rodney's reaction and for once, Rodney noticed the change in tone.

'Oh, well, I guess it can't do any harm, after all, she's never come across…'

'This type of snake before,' John interrupted, glaring a warning.

'Yes, well. Anyway, so how's Mya?'

'Why don't you ask her yourself?'

'How are you Mya?' He asked awkwardly.

'Much better, thank you,' Mya told him politely. 'How are you?'

'Fine, just fine,' he mumbled, looking around the room as he struggled to think of something else to say.

'We were just about to get something to eat, want to join us?' John took pity on Rodney and stood up, holding out his hand to Mya who grabbed hold of it eagerly. 'Hungry?' She nodded energetically.

'Well, now you mention it, it has been a while since I last ate,' Rodney responded, relieved that the initial awkwardness had now passed.

'Let's go then.' John let Rodney go ahead of him, hanging back to grab the second game on impulse, an evil smile spreading across his face before easily catching up.

They were the first ones to arrive in the mess hall for the evening meal and John quickly got the other two settled with their choices before bringing his own tray over and joining them. While Mya began eating her food with relish, Rodney glanced at John, then looked again, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

'You're up to something.'

'Who, me?' John looked at him with wide-eyed innocence as he began to shovel food into his mouth.

'Yes you,' Rodney tried not to sound exasperated. 'I've spent enough time around you to know when you're up to no good.'

'Rodney, I'm hurt,' John tried to feign surprise at Rodney's comment. 'When have you known me to be up to no good?'

'Well, last April 1st springs to mind.'

'Ok, there was that, but I wasn't the only one involved.'

'Maybe not, but you were the worst culprit. Then there was the time you decided it would be a good idea for the military personnel to play hide and seek throughout the city.'

'That wasn't hide and seek, it was an exercise to test the resourcefulness of my people,' John tried to defend himself, but couldn't stop grinning at the mayhem this had caused when the sensors had been taken off-line for routine maintenance and a large number of personnel had found themselves trapped in unexplored areas of the city when the automatic defences were triggered 'accidentally' by Rodney himself who claimed to know nothing of John's training exercise.

'Whatever,' Rodney continued to watch John carefully as he ate. 'The point is, I know when you're up to something, and you're up to something right now.'

'If you want to find out, why don't you join Mya and me in a game after we've eaten,' John proposed, fairly confident that Rodney would decline.

'If it's anything like that other game you've been playing, then I'll think I'll give it a miss, thanks,' Rodney told him coldly.

'I can assure you, it's nothing like the other game.'

Rodney eyed him suspiciously but still refused to participate, departing in a huff almost as soon as he'd finished eating.

'So, do you want to play?' John asked Mya once they'd both finished and he'd returned their trays.

'Yes please,' Mya was as eager as ever to go along with John's suggestion and he pulled the cards out of his pocket.

'Ok, this one's called snap,' John explained, dealing the cards out. 'The cards are shared out between all the players and you take it in turns to place one card down on top of the other. If you see two cards with the same picture, you put your hand on the pile and yell snap. We'll take it slowly at first, just until you get the hang of it.'

Under John's watchful eye, Mya soon got the hang of the game but play was slowed down as each time either of them laid a new card down, Mya would study it closely, sometimes giggling as she saw what the pictures were. John, more than half his attention on watching Mya's reaction with an amused expression on his face, jumped when a voice speaking behind him interrupted his thoughts.

'Can anyone join in?' Elizabeth asked, smiling as she wondered what had amused the two of them so much.

'Sure, why not?' John replied, a sly grin on his face. 'How about it, Mya? Want to start again?'

Now she had seen the pictures on the cards, Mya was ready to play properly and handed the cards over to John to shuffle and deal out. Once the first couple of cards had been laid out, Elizabeth realised the source of the amusement. The pictures on the cards weren't the ordinary animals you would expect to see in a game of snap. Instead, each of the animals had a human face super-imposed on to it and the faces used were all of Atlantis crew-members.

'Where did these come from?' Elizabeth asked, suppressing a laugh as she laid down a card showing a picture of a donkey with Kavanagh's face on it and big ears growing out of his head.

'To be honest, I have no idea,' John told her. 'Someone left a box with a couple of games outside my quarters. For some reason Rodney didn't approve of the Snakes and Stargates game.'

'I see,' Elizabeth frowned as she placed her next card on the table. 'I think some of our people must have way too much spare time on their hands.'

'You know, I said the exact same thing to Major Lorne,' John agreed.

'How many other people know about this little project?'

'Probably just about everyone,' John said in an unconcerned voice. 'At least it's a harmless activity – look on it as team-building.'

'Hmm.' Elizabeth agreed doubtfully as the game came to a rapid finish, the adults too caught up in their conversation to be paying too much attention and Mya had won easily. 'Well, I guess I'd better leave you to it then. Good night.'

'Good night,' Mya piped up, then looked at John hopefully.

'Afraid not,' he told her. 'I think it's about time you went to bed. Come on.'

--------------

They were just finishing breakfast the following morning when Major Lorne approached them. Mya smiled at him happily, her face taking on a troubled expression when he spoke to John.

'Dr Weir has asked you to go to see her,' Lorne told him.

'What, now?' John looked at him in surprise.

'Yes sir,' Lorne turned his attention to Mya now. 'If it's alright with you, Dr Weir said I should stay with you until Colonel Sheppard returns.'

Studying his face closely, she nodded before watching John leave and turned back to Lorne, waiting for him to tell her what they were going to do.

'Ok,' Lorne smiled at her, forcing himself to remain cheerful. 'Is there anything you'd like to do?'

'Snap?' She asked, pleased when he accepted the suggestion and produced the cards she had brought, just in case an opportunity arose to play the game. Once Lorne got over the surprise at the pictures on the cards, the game proceeded noisily, serving to take his mind off the meeting that he knew was now taking place in Dr Weir's office.

------------

John was surprised to find Teyla, Ronon and a strange girl already in Dr Weir's office. Glancing curiously at the others, John took a seat and looked to Elizabeth for an explanation.

'John, this is Breda,' Elizabeth began, introducing the stranger. 'She turned up as Lt Mayhew's team were about to return here, when she heard they were from Atlantis, she told him that she knew Teyla. Her own people had been attacked by raiders, but herself and some others were taken to another planet and sold as slaves. She was able to get away and returned to her home world only to find everyone there was dead, so she went to one of the planets her people had traded with in the past.'

'Does this mean..?' John looked around, his eyes narrowing as he considered the implications.

'Yes,' Teyla told him gently. 'She is one of Mya's people, but perhaps it would be best if you heard what happened directly from her.' Nodding slowly, John sat and listened as the story unfolded.

'When the strangers arrived, they gathered all my people into the centre of the village,' Breda began, a little nervous to begin but becoming more confident as she continued to relate what had happened. 'They took those of us who were aged between 16 and 20 back to their own planet. We were treated well, but several days after arriving we discovered what our fate was to be. We were taken to a market place where traders had gathered from many planets to buy us as slaves. An old man bought me - he said I reminded him of his daughter who had died when she was a child. He took me to his home and I was treated well but I fear the others were not so fortunate. I took care of him when he became ill shortly afterwards but I was unable to help him and he died very quickly. I saw to it that he was buried, then I returned home only to find…' Her voice shook as she found herself unable to describe what she had found.

'That's ok,' John told her quietly. 'We know. Do you know where any of the others were taken?'

'No, but if any are able to get away they will return to our home and then go to the Dinas as I did.'

'Teyla's told you about Mya?'

'Yes. It is hard to believe that another of my people is alive.'

'So…' John took a deep breath and looked expectantly at Elizabeth. 'What happens now?'

'My people will happily provide a home for Breda, Mya and any others that find their way to safety. They too have lost their home and know what it is like,' Teyla told him.

'Ok, well that's good,' John considered this, surprised at the emotions that were fighting within him: a gut-wrenching sorrow at the prospect of Mya going elsewhere mingled with relief that she wouldn't be going too far. 'But that's not entirely what I meant. We should do something to about this slave trade – isn't it enough that these people have to fear the Wraith without coming under attack from others of their own kind? We should put a stop to it.'

'Could you do that?' Breda had looked up at this statement, a fierce look on her face that made John wonder that any one would ever dare try to cross her.

'I think we should discuss this another time,' Elizabeth broke in, considering other priorities right now. 'How do you think Mya will take the news?'

'I'm not sure,' John frowned. He'd been trying to put the thought of what this would mean to the back of his mind, but he knew that ultimately all that mattered was ensuring Mya had a secure future. 'She seems to be recovering rapidly and doesn't get tired so easily. I think she suspects something's going on though, she's a smart kid.'

Elizabeth and Teyla hid their smiles – he sounded just like a proud father. 'Ok,' Elizabeth nodded. 'How do you want to do this?'

'Well, perhaps it would be best if I…' John's voice trailed off as he saw Mya heading towards the office, Major Lorne following closely behind her.

'I'm sorry sir,' Lorne looked apologetically at John. 'She seemed to know something was going on and insisted on coming.' He fell silent as all eyes in the room turned to Mya as she noticed the visitor for the first time.

She went very white and John was on his feet and at her side, kneeling beside her as she turned to him, her face filled with both hope and dread, her mouth opening and closing as she found herself unable to speak.

'Breda and some of the young adults were taken away to another planet. Breda was able to get away and found her way to a planet where some of our people were, they brought her here when they heard her story,' John told her as gently as he could, wrapping an arm around her waist and hugging her reassuringly. She looked at him, a wordless appeal in her eyes and he instinctively knew what she was asking and he shook his head slowly, her own sadness mirrored in his expression.

Mya's lower lip was quivering as she stood still for a moment before looking at Breda again and moving towards her, holding out her arms to her kinswoman and found herself wrapped in her embrace, both with tears running down their faces.

John, vaguely aware of movement behind him, only realised that Elizabeth, Ronon and Lorne had left when he felt Elizabeth's hand on his arm as she silently nodded her support. Teyla stood up and moved over to where John was now standing, saying nothing but he was relieved at her continued presence, knowing she understood what he was going through.

A few minutes later, Mya pulled away from Breda and returned to John, grabbed hold of his hand and tugged him towards the older girl, pointing at the seat beside Breda on the couch and climbed onto his lap, Teyla moving to sit on the other side of Breda.

Teyla and John watched as Breda and Mya sat in silence, each studying the other's face with their hands clasped tightly. After a few minutes, Mya broke her gaze and smiled tearfully at John and Teyla, looking as though she were about to burst into tears again.

Teyla, sensing that they all needed chance to gather their thoughts and come to terms with what had just happened, spoke up.

'Breda, I expect you would like to come with me to freshen up,' she suggested. 'And then perhaps we can meet up with John and Mya for lunch, in one hour?'

Mya, her face falling at the thought of being separated from her newly returned friend, brightened up as soon as she realised it would only be for be a short time and consented to return with John to his quarters so she could wash her face and sit quietly until it was time for lunch. She opted to sit on his lap again and with her head resting against his chest, they remained peacefully silent, each with their own thoughts.

Over the next two days, Breda and Mya spent most of their waking hours together, enabling John to enter into discussions with Dr Weir, Rodney, Ronon and others of the senior military personnel on their options for dealing with the slavers who had ruined so many lives. Elizabeth, in spite of her strong feelings on the subject, found it necessary to reign in some of the more violent suggestions put forward, but they at last formulated a plan that met the approval of all and preparations were begun.

-------------

To be continued… 

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


	15. Chapter 15

**Part fifteen**

John arrived in the 'jumper bay to find most of those assigned to the mission already waiting for him. He'd had to do some pretty persuasive talking to get Dr Beckett to give him the go-ahead, but he had eventually given in. It possibly had something to do with the details of the slavers that he had heard, but whatever the reason, John was thankful to be able to get out and do something about it.

Checking to make sure everyone was there, he saw Teyla arriving with Breda, who had insisted on going with them rather than just providing information on what they would find when they got there. Dr Weir and Dr Beckett would be taking care of Mya while he was gone, and he recalled her face as he explained that he would be away for a short time.

'_You are coming back?' Mya looked at him with fear in her eyes, worried that she was going to lose him._

'_Yes I will,' John assured her. 'And that's a promise.'_

'_Make sure they can't hurt anyone else ever again,' Mya told him, a fierce look on her face._

'_That's what we're planning,' John told her. 'And you'll be alright with Elizabeth and Dr Beckett won't you?' Mya nodded, happily accompanying him to be delivered to her temporary carers leaving him to get ready for the mission._

Ronon and Dr Zelenka were present, with Rodney giving Zelenka a steady stream of final instructions, the Czech looking exasperated at Rodney's unnecessary fussing. Major Lorne and the others who had been in the party that had rescued him were also present, all of them volunteering for the mission, having good reason to make sure the slavers were dealt with once and for all.

'We all know what the plan is,' John addressed them before they departed. 'So let's do this.' With that, they divided themselves between the two 'jumpers, got clearance for their departure and within moments had arrived at their destination, going to stealth mode as soon as they had exited the 'gate.

The first 'jumper circled the area around the 'gate several times before setting down in a spot from which they could defend themselves should the need arise. As soon as they had come to a stop, Ronon led the marines on a search of the area before allowing Dr Zelenka to emerge.

As soon as he was satisfied the 'gate had been secured, Ronon followed the nervous scientist towards the DHD, watching over him as he set about his work, knowing from his time with McKay that once those of a scholarly mind began to work they had little or no awareness of their surroundings. These men were by no means warriors, yet they excelled at their own particular kind of warfare that so often succeeded when more conventional means failed and Ronon had learnt to respect this, therefore it was his job to protect Zelenka as he worked and he would die if it meant that the doctorcould complete what he had started.

Three of the marines remained with him to secure the 'gate, the rest that had travelled in their jumper started to make their way towards the village to assist in the rescue of any unfortunate victims and provide cover for Colonel Sheppard's team as needed.

---------------

The second 'jumper containing Sheppard, Lorne, Teyla, Breda and six marines, continued towards the village, landing just beyond a group of trees that would provide some cover for the cloaked ship. Waiting for several minutes to make sure their arrival had gone undetected, John at last opened the 'jumper door and its occupants made their way silently out and began to move towards the village leaving two marines to watch their backs and guard the 'jumper.

John, with Teyla, Breda and one of the marines, crept closer to a large building at the side of the village that Breda said had housed her and others when they had been brought here. As they reached the building, a voice could be heard through the open window.

'I thought I heard something outside,' a woman's voice said, getting louder as it approached the window. 'Probably an animal,' the voice continued, then footsteps could be heard moving away.

Breathing a sigh of relief, John motioned to the others to remain silent for several minutes before he moved forward on his own to try and see how many people were inside the building. Rapidly assessing the situation, John returned and led the way back to the 'jumper where Lorne and his team arrived shortly after.

'There are fifteen females in there that look like prisoners and there were four others who appeared to be in charge,' John reported, looking at Breda for any additional information she could provide.

'I think they must be preparing for another market,' Breda told him quietly. 'How many males were in the other holding place?'

'Fourteen,' Lorne replied having checked out the building she referred to on the other side of the village. 'And I could see six guards.'

'Then the market will take place in two days,' Breda said with some certainty. 'When I was captured, I had to wait several days before the sale as they like to have as many slaves as possible and their holding places will only house fifteen in each. Tomorrow the traders will begin to arrive, at night there will be a feast in their honour and the sale will start at dawn the following morning.'

'Do you think all the slavers have returned now?' John asked, wanting to make sure there was no possibility of anyone slipping through the net.

'Yes,' Breda told him. 'They are a lazy people and only work when they have to. They will rely on the trades they make at the sale to feed and clothe themselves and only seek out more slaves when supplies run low.'

Liking these people even less with each passing moment, John was glad that soon they would no longer be a threat to innocent people.

'Ok, we wait until everyone settles down for the night before we go into action. Zelenka,' John spoke into his radio. 'I need you to be ready in three hours.' He listened for a few moments, rolling his eyes as the Czech appeared to have embarked on a long-winded explanation, cut short by Sheppard's next comment. 'But it will work?…Good, that's all I need to know. Sheppard out.'

After finalising their plans, Teyla returned to the 'jumper with Breda while John, Lorne and the marines set about placing explosives at intervals around the village to provide them the necessary distraction to be able to carry out their plan before they too headed for the 'jumper, joined by the marines from the first 'jumper, and waited.

--------------

Several tense hours later, John stood up from where he had been surveying any activity in the village and indicated it was time to get going.

Teyla, Breda and John, along with two marines, went to the house holding the female prisoners while Lorne took three men to go to the one housing the males. The remaining men positioned themselves around the village on the routes back to the two 'jumpers. The male prisoners would be taken to the first 'jumper as this was closest to their position, the females to the second 'jumper.

John scratched the only door leading in to the building they had targeted, alerting one of the occupants who cautiously opened the door a fraction, peering around to see who was there. When she saw nobody outside, the woman made to close the door only to find a foot wedged between the door and the frame, a hand covering her mouth and her arms and legs rapidly tied together. After being gagged, she was carried outside and deposited at the side of the building facing away from the rest of the village where she would not be found immediately.

Satisfied that all was going well, John led his team further into the house and they rapidly dealt with the remaining guards making as little noise as possible by using wraith stunners.

While this was going on, Teyla and Breda made their way into the large room housing the prisoners, reassuring those that had been woken by the disturbances going on outside their room and waking those who were still asleep.

'Hush, it is alright,' Teyla told them. 'I am Teyla and this is Breda. We are here to take you away from here. We have a ship waiting to take us back to the Stargate but we must move quickly and quietly.' Glancing up as she saw John enter the room and nod that the guards were taken care of, Teyla spoke again. 'Come it is time to leave.'

Ushering the girls outside, Teyla and Breda led the way back towards the 'jumper, reaching it without being detected and getting all safely inside.

Lorne's team weren't so fortunate. They had further to go and were spotted while they were still some distance from their 'jumper.

'Light it up and lay down covering fire,' John called into his radio to the marines standing by for the order as soon as he heard the sound of voices shouting near Lorne's position.

Immediately an explosion rocked the ground right in the centre of the village, followed by several smaller explosions in a number of different locations. Villagers came pouring out of their homes, heading for the source of the nearest explosion and in the confusion, Lorne's group were able to cover the rest of the distance safely, making it to the 'jumper before any of the villagers realised what was happening. 'We're all here,' Lorne reported, his voice slightly out of breath over the radio. 'Zelenka has everything set up and he and Ronon are on board now.'

Recalling those covering Lorne's escape route, John was about to give the order to leave when he realised Teyla and Breda were missing.

'Where are they?' He demanded, looking around at the faces of the confused and frightened young people crowding the rear compartment of the 'jumper. 'We're not leaving without all our people,' he continued, his voice more patient but still emphasising the urgency of the situation. 'Did anyone see where they went?'

One of the girls stepped forward hesitantly. 'The younger one went to some people she saw at the edge of the woods, the other woman went after her. That way.' Pointing in the direction they had gone, John took a couple of men with him to retrieve the two absentees, cursing the foolish impulses of young people to himself.

Stealthily the three men approached a clearing among the trees where they could see Breda and Teyla talking rapidly to a small group of people. Before John could get close enough to act, the group were surrounded by men brandishing knives and axes, trying to herd them back towards the village.

After radioing for back up, John stepped forward, the marines moving into position on the opposite side of the clearing.

'I don't want anyone to get hurt,' John told them, looking around at the fierce and angry faces of the armed men. 'Just put down your weapons and back off and we'll all go about our business.'

In response, one of the men began to move steadily forward, heading towards the young man who was closest to him, his knife at the ready. Grimacing at this action, John fired his 9mil at the ground just in front of the man.

'That was just a warning shot,' John called out, his voice stony, his eyes glinting with anger. 'Next time it'll be for real. Now back off.'

Looking at John uncertainly, then looking at his fellow villagers, the man hesitated before he took a step backwards, his action mirrored by most of the others who also began to retreat, their initial bravado rapidly evaporating at the sight of someone who was better armed and who wasn't intimidated by them, a situation unfamiliar to them as their reputation was usually sufficient to get their own way, violence very rarely being needed when they were so close to home.

Unfortunately, not everyone felt the same way as their leader and several of the villagers stood their ground, moving towards the small group in the middle who huddled closer together. As one of them reached out to grab one of the captives, the group panicked and began to run, aimlessly at first but after a few minutes John realised they were actually heading towards the 'jumper, their departure being covered by the marines he had brought with him and the newly-arrived back up. Breda and Teyla followed behind the group, shepherding them in the right direction leaving John to free one who had been caught.

At the sudden appearance of more armed men using superior tactics, the opposition hesitated, lowering their own weapons as they considered the situation, allowing John the opportunity to tackle the only person who seemed willing to stand up to him. Using the butt of his P90 to hit the man on the side of his head, stunning him to inactivity, John was able to easily free the restrained girl but they had only retreated a short distance when it appeared that word of where the invaders were based had reached the rest of the villagers and they were arriving in larger numbers now, bearing theweapons they used when carrying out raids on other planets.

'Everyone fall back to the 'jumpers,' John yelled as he grabbed the arm of the captive he had freed, guiding her along the path. A shout behind him warned him the pursuit were closing in, followed almost immediately by a searing pain in his arm causing him to stumble. Breathing through the agony of the injury, John steadied himself against a nearby tree, glancing down at the girl who was trying to get back on her feet, fear masking the effects of the injury to her back where she had been hit.

Wasting no more time, John wrapped his arm around the girl, trying to avoid the injury, and supporting most of her weight as she began to go into shock, continued on his way to the 'jumper.

'Is everyone here?' John shouted as he helped the girl to a hastily vacated seat once they reached the ship. He looked around to make sure all were accounted for and as secure as possible, ignoring the increasing pain in his arm that was beginning to make him feel nauseous. 'Let's get these 'jumpers in the air,' he continued, including the second 'jumper in the order which had arrived a short time before to provide additional support. It was a tight squeeze – the small ships weren't designed to carry such large numbers but they only had one chance at this and he wasn't going to leave anyone behind.

Taking another look around, he worked his way towards the front of the 'jumper and leaned against the open doorway leading to the forward section of the ship, afraid that if he didn't have some support he might fall over. He watched as they flew over the village in stealth mode, observing the villagers as they regrouped and began to head for the Stargate, relieved that the 'jumpers would arrive first and so avoid the need for a firefight.

As soon as they reached the 'gate, the 'jumpers set down just long enough to enable the three marines guarding their means of escape to get in, before dialling Atlantis and returning home.

-----------

'That's everyone,' Sergeant Read told Rodney as soon as he received the message from the 'jumper bay. Rodney had been hovering anxiously behind Read for some time before they received word that the off-world teams were returning, ignoring the glances he'd been getting as he hobbled up and down the control room on his crutches, always returning to stand behind Read before he continued the pacing.

'Now,' Rodney gave the order, watching as Read activated the electronic impulse that would make it impossible for anyone to connect to that address. They had found some Ancient research on the deactivation of individual Stargates as a defence against the Wraith, without causing all the 'gates in the network to be updated in line with the change. It had been abandoned, however, when the Ancients realised the extent of the Wraith fleet and that the people on these planets would have been trapped when the Wraith arrived in their ships, but there had been sufficient information for Rodney and Zelenka to use it against this particular planet.

'Did it work?' Elizabeth asked anxiously, having appeared as soon as she heard the 'gate being activated.

'Of course it worked,' Rodney told her, rapidly checking the data he was receiving, looking exasperated at even being asked that question.

'Good,' Major Lorne announced as he came racing down from the 'jumper bay in time to overhear this, activating the remote detonator he was holding. 'Raise the shield,' he yelled as soon as the signal had been sent, only just in time as a resounding boom echoed through the 'gate room.

'What the hell was that?' Rodney glared at Lorne who was looking pleased with himself.

'Yes, what was that?' Elizabeth asked anxiously, wondering what had just happened.

'Plan B,' Lorne replied, ignoring Rodney's glares and smiling apologetically at Elizabeth. 'Works every time.'

'And what exactly was plan B?' Rodney's voice was icy.

'Colonel Sheppard wanted a back up just in case they tried to fix the 'gate,' Lorne explained. 'The 'gate was situated against a hillside so the men guarding it set some charges to bury it, we just needed to activate it by remote. It was kind of a last minute decision, sorry we didn't have chance to let you know beforehand.'

'Very well,' Elizabeth reluctantly accepted the explanation for now, intending to have further words with John at the first opportunity before returning to her office to wait for further status reports.

'I doubt they could fix it,' Zelenka added, appearing behind them. 'And even if they did, they will go nowhere. See?' He held out a handful of control crystals he had just pulled from his backpack. 'Spare parts.'

'Very clever,' Lorne nodded approvingly.

'I'm glad you think so,' Rodney snapped. 'Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see Colonel blow-it-up-if-it's-in-my-way.'

--------------

As Dr Beckett arrived at the bottom of the stairs leading to the 'jumper bay in response to a request for a medical team from the returning off-world teams, he was surprised to see Mya waiting there, assuming her to still be in bed and fast asleep.

'What's wrong? Are you ill?' He asked, concerned at her pale face and tear-filled eyes.

Instead of answering him, she just grabbed his hand and began to tug him up the stairs. Bewildered, he followed her up, keeping hold of her hand when they reached the 'jumper bay to make sure she didn't get caught up in the mass of people now emerging from the two returned ships.

Ignoring the first 'jumper, Mya continued towards the second, standing back to watch as several marines exited, helping an injured girl. Paying little attention to the few familiar faces and the many unfamiliar ones, Mya returned her gaze to the 'jumper. Beckett, checking to make sure the wounded girl was being looked after and to see if there were any other injuries he needed to know about, felt Mya pulling on his hand again, going with her as he saw a protesting Colonel Sheppard leaving the 'jumper being supported by Teyla.

'I'm fine,' John was insisting, though he looked anything but fine. His face was pale, his forehead beaded with sweat and his voice normally strong and confident was now faint and weak. 'It's just a scratch and I can make my own way to the infirmary, thank you.'

'Colonel, I really think you should…' Teyla didn't have chance to finish her sentence as she found herself supporting John's weight as he passed out and lowered him to the floor. Her eyes fell on Dr Beckett with some relief, the relief turning to concern as she realised who was with him.

As Beckett knelt beside John to check his responses and the injury to his arm, Teyla stood with Mya who was looking terrified at what she had just seen.

'What happened?' Rodney asked anxiously as he arrived in time to see John collapse. 'Why isn't he in the infirmary?'

'Rodney,' Teyla spoke warningly to him before continuing in a gentler tone to Mya. 'It is not as bad as it looks. He will be fine.'

'Aye, he will,' Beckett looked up and smiled at her to try to ease some of the uncertainty he could see in her face. 'He'll be uncomfortable for a wee while, but he'll be up and about in no time. Now I have to take him to the infirmary, but you can come and see him later.'

Clinging to Teyla's hand, Mya watched as a second medical team appeared, rapidly moving John to a gurney and whisking him off for his injuries to be treated, Rodney following closely behind, leaving the two of them alone in the now empty 'jumper bay.

---------------

To be continued… 

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


	16. Chapter 16

**Part sixteen**

'What's the situation?' Elizabeth asked as Major Lorne appeared in her office.

'The infirmary have finished checking the new arrivals - most of them are fine but they've had to keep one who was injured quite badly,' Lorne reported, running his fingers tiredly through his hair. 'Sergeant Hobson has informed me that the rest have all been assigned temporary accommodation. I'll be overseeing the resettlement operation, but the chances are most of these kids' homes and families will have been wiped out. The Torians have already said they will take in anyone who is need of a home.'

'That's good to hear,' Elizabeth smiled with relief that order was now being restored to the city, although she would be even more relieved once the refuges had been properly resettled.

'It also turns out we were able to retrieve some more of Mya and Breda's people – the injured girl is one of them,' Lorne continued. 'Apparently they were kept by the slavers to tend the fields and cattle. Breda has asked if they can all stay on here for the time being, just until they know what's happening with Mya and their friend in the infirmary.'

'That won't be a problem,' Elizabeth readily agreed, understanding the need for those of the same village to remain together. 'I know Mya will be with us for a little longer, until Colonel Sheppard is back on his feet anyway.'

'I see. How is he?'

'He should be fine,' Beckett spoke up as he appeared beside Lorne. 'But he is running a bit of a temperature at the moment. The damage to his arm isn't too severe in itself and should heal fairly quickly, but coming on top of the previous injury that he hadn't fully recovered from, it's affected him more than it would have done normally. I'm beginning to regret allowing him to go on this mission.'

'I don't think we had much choice,' Elizabeth told him. 'How are the refugees?'

'Not too bad for the most part,' Beckett replied, looking almost as tired as herself and Lorne must. 'There were a few cases of malnutrition but apart from that they're a pretty healthy bunch. Tyana, the one who was injured with Colonel Sheppard, is resting at the moment but the blast she took to her back could have caused some spinal damage. The whole area is inflamed though and we won't know the extent of the problem until the swelling goes down.'

'You've all done an outstanding job,' Elizabeth told them. 'Pass on my thanks to your teams. Now, it's probably time we all got some sleep. Good night gentlemen.'

---------------

John was very warm when he woke, his limbs felt heavy and useless and his head was pounding as though someone was tap dancing in his brain. Cracking one eye open a fraction increased the discomfort in his head and he rapidly closed it again, suppressing a groan, partly due to the discomfort and partly due to finding himself back in the infirmary – he seemed to be spending way too much time here for one reason or another recently and he had just about had enough of this place to last a lifetime.

Pushing those thoughts to one side, John considered his current situation. Aside from the heaviness in his limbs and the headache, John was aware of a dull pain in his left arm bringing back memories of the recent mission to the slavers home world and the injury he had received just before they returned home. The discomfort in his arm he could understand, but he was confused as to why the rest of him felt so hard done by. His musings were brought to a halt when he felt a cool, damp cloth wiping his hands and face, finding it surprisingly refreshing.

Forcing his eyes open, he looked at the 'nurse' who had been wiping his face, realising that the concerned eyes staring right at him belonged to someone far younger than he expected. As she saw him looking at her, Mya grinned happily and climbed up beside him to give him a big hug, burying her face in his chest as her shoulders started to heave with happy sobs, realising for the first time since he'd returned that hewas going to be alright.

'Hush, it's alright,' John rubbed her back, finding the movement awkward and uncomfortable but ignoring the discomfort for the time being. 'I told you I'd come back didn't I?'

'I thought…I thought…' Mya gulped, looking up at him, her eyes red and face wet with tears. 'When you fell over…'

'I know, and I'm really sorry I gave you such a fright,' John told her softly. 'But I'm here now and more or less in one piece, so you don't need to worry any more.'

'It's good to see you're awake at last, Colonel.' John looked up as Beckett spoke, unnoticed until now. 'Mya, now you've seen for yourself that he's awake, why don't you and Breda go find Teyla and get some breakfast – Teyla tells me you haven't had anything to eat yet.'

Looking doubtfully at John, Mya only consented to leave when he nodded at her encouragingly. She jumped down after hugging John once more and made her way to one of the other beds in the infirmary where John saw Breda sitting with another patient. Breda and Mya had a brief conversation before they disappeared to find Teyla and breakfast.

'What's going on?' John asked, a puzzled look on his face.

'The girl you helped yesterday, the one who got shot, is from Breda and Mya's village – as were the others that Breda went after,' Beckett explained. 'We don't know how severe her injuries are yet, but Breda and the others are taking it in turns to sit with her so she doesn't feel isolated.'

'I see,' John nodded before grimacing as the headache increased in intensity. 'So, how am I doing?' He went on to ask, trying to fight through the fuzziness that was developing in his brain. 'It doesn't feel too bad.'

'I can see that, son,' Beckett told him dryly. 'And I can tell you're not in any pain whatsoever, of course.'

'Ok, you've got me,' John admitted reluctantly. 'So what's the damage?'

'The nerves in your arm were badly affected by the electrical charge from the weapon that hit you, the actual damage is minimal, but it will be a while before you get full use back in that arm again and you'll need to wear a sling for a couple of weeks.'

'You've got to be kidding me,' John complained loudly. 'I've only just got back to work and you're telling me I'm back on light duties again already?'

'I'm afraid so, Colonel,' Beckett told him, sympathising with the way he was feeling. 'You're also going to be feeling feverish for a few days – it's your body's way of telling you to slow down and let it heal. Getting injured before you were fully recovered will delay your progress slightly and I'll need to keep you in here for a few days to make sure everything is returning to normal.'

'I guess that would explain why my head feels like it's about to explode then,' John grudgingly accepted the situation.

'Aye, but I can give you something for the pain and to help bring your temperature down,' Beckett offered, surprised at John's willingness to admit to feeling unwell.

'Thanks,' John mumbled, worn out by the lengthy discussion and struggling to keep his eyes open. 'Think I'll just rest for a while.' Before Beckett had turned around to fetch the promised medication, John's eyes had closed and he was breathing deeply as sleep claimed him.

-------------

The next few days passed in a blur for John as his temperature refused to return to normal. He would wake up for brief intervals, the world around him merging into the fog and confusion of his fevered dreams. Often he would see a pair of dark eyes set in a small face that would peer at him when he woke, damp cloth in hand to wipe his hands and face, offering him sips of water that helped to ease some of the discomfort. Other times it would be dark or he would be on his own and at those times he felt incredibly lonely, in spite of knowing deep down that somewhere close by would be Dr Beckett and the infirmary staff.

Late in the afternoon of the third day John opened his eyes to see Mya watching him, a frown on her face as she considered the man looking back at her.

'Hey,' John greeted her, his voice dry and cracked, gladly accepting the water she held up for him to drink.

As soon as he had taken a few sips, he rested his head back against the pillow. He felt drained and limp, but he also felt more alert and suspected the fever had broken at last which would allow him to begin to recover properly. His thoughts were confirmed as Mya returned with Dr Beckett, making him realise how ill he must have been as he hadn't even noticed her going to fetch him.

'That's much better, Colonel,' Beckett assured him as he took his temperature and checked the thermometer. 'Pretty much normal again. How are you feeling?'

'Like a plateful of cold spaghetti,' John told him, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise as Beckett laughed at his response. 'That's no way to respond to a sick man.'

'I see you're feeling much better,' was all Beckett said, ignoring John's digs at him. 'You had us worried for a day or two,' he went on in a more serious tone, both men's attention caught as Mya nodded in agreement, her face solemn. Beckett coughed to stop himself from smiling at the seriousness of her expression. 'Now the fever's gone, I think you should start to recover fairly rapidly.'

'That's good news,' John agreed, hugging Mya who, unable to restrain herself any more, jumped on top of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. 'And you've been looking after me, haven't you?'

Mya beamed at this, not expecting him to remember her being there while he was so poorly.

'Dr Beckett said I did a very good job,' Mya told him proudly, scrambling down to stand beside him, still clutching one of his hands. 'He said you could be a..a grumpy pain in the ass when you were ill.' Mya looked at Beckett for confirmation that she'd got the phrase correct, unaware of the impacther announcement hadon the two men.

'He did, did he?' John glared at Beckett, whose face and neck were rapidly turning a dull shade of red as he realised the words he'd spoken to his head nurse had been overheard by little ears.

Oblivious to these reactions, Mya went on to explain further. 'The nurses showed me where to find what I needed and they didn't seem to mind me doing their work. I liked taking care of you.'

'And I'm glad you were there,' John told her, then grinned at Beckett, willing to call a truce with the man who held his life in his hands – literally at times. Besides, he wasn't that bothered at the comment – he knew he wasn't the best of patients and had long suspected the medical staff dreaded his all too frequent stays in the infirmary.

'Colonel Sheppard,' a soft familiar voice greeted him. 'You are looking much better.'

'Teyla,' John greeted his team-mate. 'How's things?'

'Everything is fine,' Teyla told him, seeing that in spite of his improved appearance, John still looked very tired. 'I have come to fetch Mya to get something to eat. She has been spending much time here but her fellow villagers and I have been making sure she eats and does other activities also.'

'That's good,' John told her, fighting to keep his eyes open. 'I'm going to be just fine,' he assured Mya. 'Why don't you go and spend some time with your people now and come back to see me tomorrow?'

Mya gave him another happy grin and went off with Teyla, leaving Beckett and John alone.

'I know you're really tired right, now,' Beckett began, considering his next words carefully. 'But Mya took it really badly when she saw you pass out in the 'jumper bay. She was convinced you were dead.'

'So I gather – I remember her reaction when I first woke up,' John grimaced, feeling really bad about what he'd put the little girl through. 'But I guess making a decision has become that little bit easier – she needs to be with people who can give her a more stable life than she'll get here. I just hate the thought of her not being around any more.'

'I know,' Beckett agreed. 'I think we'll all miss her. Did you know she realised you were injured before anyone else did?'

'What are you talking about?' John looked confused.

'She made her way from your quarters to the 'jumper bay and arrived at the same time as I was heading there with the medical team when we were told there was a casualty – but we didn't know that you were injured as well.'

'That's…kind of weird.'

'Yes, but it's not unheard of for people to have some kind of precognition when something happens to someone close to them,' Beckett explained. 'I've never done much in that field myself, but Dr Heightmeyer can probably let you have more information if you're interested.'

'I think I'll just accept it for the time being,' John looked a little uncomfortable at the way the discussion was going and changed the subject. 'When can I get out of here?'

'Providing you don't develop any complications, you should be able to return to your quarters in two days.'

'Two days?' John began to complain, then looked sheepish as Beckett stood there with his arms crossed. 'I am kind of tired, come to think of it,' he admitted at last.

'That's to be expected, son,' Beckett told him, smiling before he left to see about his other duties, suspecting John would be sound asleep within moments.

-------------

'I hear you're getting out of here tomorrow, sir,' Major Lorne said as he arrived in the infirmary to bring John up to speed on the relocation of the refugees.

'That's right,' John said, looking and feeling much more alert than he had the previous day. 'I'll still be on light dutiesfor a couple of weeks though.'

'I kind of guessed as much,' Lorne told him. 'And I thought you'd like to know how it's all been going – one less thing for you to catch up on.' As John nodded his approval, Lorne continued to speak. 'It turns out there were only four planets represented by the refugees, apart from Mya's people, that is. Anyway, we went to each of their planets but it was pretty much the same on each one we went to. Everyone was dead and there was nothing left to salvage, the buildings had been burned to the ground, the crops had been destroyed and the livestock slaughtered and left to rot. It was tough on everyone.'

John glanced Lorne's grim face, understanding how difficult this had been for all those involved.

'I'm just glad they won't be able to do it again,' Lorne continued, and John guessed that given half a chance, Lorne and his whole team would willingly seek revenge on the people who had carried out these acts of violence. 'Anyway, they're all settling in with the Torians as well as can be expected. I've told them we'll send people to check on them from time to time to see if they need any assistance until the new arrivals are properly integrated and the villagers are sure they have sufficient supplies.' It was also evident from Lorne's voice how tired he was, but as he talked about the settling in process, his face showed that he was getting some satisfaction from knowing they had at least helped these few survivors get a fresh start

'Good work, Major,' John commended him warmly. 'Now, go and get yourself some rest.'

Once left to himself, John inevitably found his thoughts wandering to the very real problem of what to do about one little girl to whom he had become very attached. He knew what needed to be done, but he also knew it was going to be one of the hardest decisions he would ever have to make.

-------------

To be continued… 

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


	17. Chapter 17

**Part Seventeen**

Five days after John had been released from the infirmary he was on his way to the 'jumper bay with a yawning Mya. It was late in the evening and they were about to depart for the mainland.

John and Mya had spent some time with the Athosians on the mainland, where Breda and her fellow villagers had already settled down, and John had at last come to terms with what he knew had to happen. Throughout the day Mya had been saying a sad farewell to those she had come to know during her time in Atlantis. She had produced pictures in readiness for the occasion, including pictures for all those who had retrieved the prisoners and prevented the slavers from ever hurting anyone else.

John had cleared the late departure with Dr Weir, who agreed it would be less traumatic for Mya if they left after most people would have returned to their quarters for the night so the corridors would be quieter. As they arrived in the 'jumper bay, they were met by Teyla and Major Lorne, who would be piloting the ship on this occasion.

Silently they filed on to the 'jumper and took their seats, Mya seeking John's lap for the journey, wanting to spend as much time as she could with him while she could, and John was more than ready to accommodate her as he fought to remain positive about the whole situation.

As soon as they were settled, Lorne got permission to depart and within moments they were in the air and on their way. Ten minutes before they reached the mainland, John could hear Lorne talking quietly on his radio, just able to make out what he was saying.

'Jumper 3 to Athosian settlement, we are en-route and should be with you shortly, please stand by to receive us.'

As they landed, they were met by a small group consisting of the family who would be providing a home to Mya, Breda who would also be living with them and Halling.

'Welcome home,' Halling greeted Mya formally, holding out a hand to her. Overwhelmed at what was going on, Mya stuck her thumb in her mouth and silently took Halling's hand, her eyes fixed on John's face, who smiled reassuringly at her. 'I expect you are tired little one?' He crouched down in front of the silent Mya who nodded. 'Then perhaps it would be best if you went straight to bed. Colonel Sheppard will come along shortly to bid you good night.'

He took Mya over to the couple waiting patiently with Breda.

'Mya, you already know Tomar and Cristyn, they will take you to their home and get you settled. Good night.'

Still not speaking, Mya accepted Cristyn's hand, and with Breda taking her other hand, they made their way to the far side of the settlement, disappearing from view within moments as the darkness swallowed them.

'You are doing the right thing, Colonel,' Halling spoke quietly, understanding the wrench it was in handing Mya over to someone else's care. 'Mya can begin a new life here with people who will understand what it is like to lose loved ones. Children are remarkably resilient and she has now seen the good side of human nature, she will soon settle down.'

'I know,' John replied with a big sigh. 'It doesn't make it any easier, though.'

'No,' Halling agreed. 'But she is only a short distance away so it won't be goodbye, merely farewell until you next meet. Her fellow villagers are also here and have already settled in with their new families so she also has people she knows and who can help her adjust. Ah, here is Lomar,' Halling looked up as a child of around twelve years old came running towards them. 'It is time you said your farewells. Lomar will show you the way.'

Glancing back to where Lorne and Teyla remained chatting quietly with Halling, John followed Lomar to Mya's new home where he found her already in bed, her teddy tucked in beside her. Cristyn was sitting with her but stood up to leave the two of them alone for a few minutes as soon as he appeared.

Neither of them spoke. They had spent enough time together that words weren't needed. Pulling Mya into a hug, John could feel her shoulders start to quiver as the tears she had fought so long to control finally began to fall as she realised that John would be returning to Atlantis without her.

John allowed her to cry for a short time but when she showed no signs of stopping, he pulled away, held her by the shoulders and looked into her face.

'I will come back to visit you soon,' John promised, gently brushing away the tears with his thumb. 'And you know I wouldn't leave you if I didn't know you were going to be alright. Now, it's time for me to go and Cristyn has promised to tell you a story. Be brave.' Standing up, he bent down and gave her one last hug before moving swiftly out of Mya's sight, pausing to watch Cristyn sitting beside Mya on the bed, hugging her for a few moments before starting on the story.

As he watched, he saw Mya's tears gradually stop as she listened, enthralled at the story she was hearing and he could feel himself beginning to accept the separation at last, relieved that things were working out but still struggling to control his own emotions. Just as he was about to take his leave, unnoticed by the two he had been watching, he felt a hand touch his arm gently.

Turning, he found Teyla watching him with understanding in her eyes. Saying nothing, he nodded his head sadly and followed her to the main living area where Tomar, Lomar and Breda were gathered, drinking tea and talking quietly.

'We will look after her as if she were our own,' Tomar promised, standing and gripping John's hand reassuringly. 'And you will always be welcome in our home.'

'Thank you,' John replied simply, not trusting his voice to say anything further just now.

'We should be going,' Teyla jumped in, saving John from having to speak again. 'But I am sure we will see each other again soon. Good night.'

They walked back to the 'jumper in silence, John appreciating Teyla's company but relieved she didn't want to talk as Rodney or one of the others would no doubt have done. As they approached the spot where they'd parked the 'jumper, John looked around for Lorne and Halling but could see no-one. Sensing his concern, Teyla spoke up.

'Major Lorne is waiting inside for us and Halling has returned to his home for the night. He thought you would prefer there to be as few people around as possible.'

'Thanks,' was all John said, knowing that Teyla understood what he meant. When they arrived at the 'jumper, John nodded a greeting at Lorne who looked around briefly to check both of them were present and settled then set about flying them home.

As soon as they arrived back in the 'jumper bay, apart from a brief word with Lorne and Teyla, John hurried back to his quarters, wanting the opportunity to be alone with his thoughts, at least for now anyway. He wandered restlessly around his room, picking up a few items and throwing them down, picked up his guitar then put it back down again before settling with his book open on his lap but not reading it.

The room was too empty and lifeless, he figured out pretty quickly. He had become so used to having Mya around in the short time she had been on Atlantis that he hadn't realised how big a gap there would be once she had gone.

He prowled the empty corridors of Atlantis for a while, avoiding the eyes of the few personnel who were still up and about at this late hour before his feet instinctively took him towards the mess hall. Thoughts of coffee and a snack became most appealing and he helped himself to a plate of sandwiches from the small selection left out for those working late or just unable to sleep. After grabbing a cup of coffee as well, he headed for a table near one of the windows when he noticed for the first time that the rest of his team were already gathered at one of the tables.

He'd had enough of being alone for now and he gratefully went to join them.

'We thought perhaps you might appreciate some company,' Teyla smiled at him welcomingly.

'Thanks, guys,' John returned the smile and sat down, picked up a sandwich and took a bite, content for the time being to listen to Rodney and Ronon continue a heated discussion about the merits of keeping animals as pets. He watched as Rodney grew pinker in the face as the conversation progressed.

'Animals are food,' Ronon insisted, almost sneering at the sentimentality of keeping livestock for any other purpose. 'You slaughter them for their meat and use their skins to make clothing.'

'You…you,' Rodney spluttered, struggling to find words to respond to Ronon's calm insistence that he was right and would not be swayed no matter what arguments were put forward.

Teyla, ever the peacemaker, decided it was time to step in and head things off before her two bickering team-mates started a fist fight.

'Rodney, you were going to tell us more about this hockey they play in Canada,' Teyla suggested, grinning as John rolled his eyes at the thought of listening to McKay spout off about the sport.

Leaning back in his chair, John surveyed his team as they became caught up in another discussion, Rodney struggling to make Ronon understand the intricacies of the game while Ronon appeared unable to understand the vagaries of these people from earth that demanded they devote so much time to such useless pastimes. Ronon caught his eye and winked, unseen by Rodney who continued his ranting, unaware that he had been set up, and for the first time that day John felt relaxed and secure in the knowledge that Mya was in the best hands and that he too was lucky with the people with which he was surrounded, ready to get some rest and return to work the following day.

THE END

_I hope you all enjoyed it. I'd like to thank everyone who was kind enough to review - your comments and support were much appreciated - and thank you to everyone who read it._

_The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author_


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